Upper Dublin shows bright future in decisive win over Springfield-Montco
UPPER DUBLIN >> It’s always good to pick up a convincing league win. It’s even better when your underclassmen are the stars of the game.
Upper Dublin topped Springfield, 6-0, Tuesday afternoon in a Suburban One League American Conference matchup at Upper Dublin High School. The Cardinals got three goals from a junior, two from a sophomore and four assists from a sophomore.
“You see some of those younger players have a lot of talent,” Upper Dublin coach John Topper said. “We’re just hoping the team continues to move in the right direction as we have over the last week or so. I think we can do some good things.”
The sophomore dishing out four assists was Sizzy Lawton. She set teammates up for two easy one-touch goals and executed a perfect give-and-go for one of her other dimes.
“Anywhere you put (Lawton) on the field, she’s always thinking the game,” Topper said. “She’s got phenomenal vision. She’s clearly not one of the bigger players on the field, but she just does all the little things right.”
Junior Tori Hoffner tallied a hat trick. She scored the first goal of the game and added two more in the second half to help cement the game for the Cardinals.
“This was kind of an offensive breakout game for us and (Hoffner) was a big part of that,” Topper said. “She’s created a lot of opportunities this year and today her finishing was a little bit cleaner than it’s been the last couple of games. That’s the potential she has.”
Sophomore Priya Kaneria scored a pair of goals — both on assists from Lawton. The first was part of the give-and-go and the second was a one-touch score in front of the net.
Two seniors also picked up points for the Cardinals. Kirsten Threlfall scored a goal and Lexi Schneider picked up an assist.
Upper Dublin improves to 3-3 overall this year and 2-3 in SOL American play.
“We converted on our chances today,” Topper said, comparing Tuesday’s win to the rest of the year. “We’ve had some other games where we felt like we were in good position at the halftime. I think it was 2-0 at half here, games like that can go either way. The difference between this and some of those other games was that we got the first goal after the half. Our girls did a good job of doing the right things to kill the game off. In the past we may have been a little sloppy about how we managed the game when we’re ahead. This was our first shutout of the year and I think some things came together for us today that we’ve been working on and maybe lacking in the past.”
The Spartans fall to 0-5-1 overall and 0-3-1 in the league.
Springfield’s offense put just one shot on goal in the game and the defense provided little resistance to Upper Dublin’s attack.
“We stood and we watched the game,” Springfield coach Suzette Wolf said. “We were actually bystanders through the game. We let them move the ball all around us. We let them take the initiative. We were ball-watching, of course, but we were not goal-side for 99-percent of the game. Therefore, they were able to score at will. I’m surprised it wasn’t a higher score.
“Our girls work very hard, so I will give them that. They are always working hard. They have a ton of heart, but we were not up to the caliber of Upper Dublin’s play today.”
