By PAUL GOTHAM
HILTON, N.Y. — Molly Brown connected in the 47th minute, and Penfield girls’ soccer held off host Hilton for a 1-nil victory in Monroe County Division I action, Monday evening.
Brown collected the ball along the right flank and finished far post for the eventual game winner.
“I knew we weren’t probably going to get that many chances like that because they have an insane strong defense,” she said. “I just knew we had to take advantage of any opportunity.”
The goal was the senior forward’s team-leading seventh of the season.
46’ Molly Brown intercepts a cleaning and goes far post to give @PenfieldSoccer a 1-nil lead. pic.twitter.com/UlMdCz7bXo
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 8, 2024
“She’s so lethal up top, so fast,” said Penfield head coach Libbie Tobin. “She gives us a presence that we need.”
The two teams played to a level match (1-1) when they met on September 16th. Neither side’s defense ceded many opportunities during the opening 40 minutes of Monday’s encounter.
“Definitely in the first half we were chasing more than we want to,” Tobin said. “They got a little frustrated, but they didn’t lose their composure. I was just thinking let’s get to the half so we can regroup, and they did. It wasn’t great but we got through it.”
The win was the third straight for Penfield (9-1-1) and sixth in the past seven.
“The margin of victory is so fine in Section V for girls’ soccer,” Tobin said. “We can’t give up any goals. We have to be strong in the back and make them earn it. Then when we have an opportunity we have to take advantage of it. We talk about that all the time. Understanding those moments in the game, it’s 80 minutes, but there are little moments that you got to realize this is the time.”
Caylyn Crane made five saves for the shutout – the Patriots second clean sheet in the past three games and fourth overall.
“They really stepped up against a very good team, a strong team. We made a couple changes, but at the end of the day just stepped up. We have a lot of strong kids not only with soccer abilities but mental abilities. They just know what they need to do.”
Hilton fell to 6-4-2 with the loss.
“That’s a good team,” Hilton head coach Nino Pilato said of Penfield. “They’re fast, and they’re physical. I thought we possessed the ball well. I thought we moved the ball around well. We had a good portion of the game where we controlled it.”
Penfield travels to Webster Schroeder for a 6:30 p.m. game on Wednesday.
Hilton hosts Aquinas on Saturday for a scheduled noon kickoff.
Leave a Reply