CR North carries its performance from bus to pitch to top CB West

DOYLESTOWN >> There are worse ways to get fired up for a game then a Grammy-winning soundtrack.

Having left school at the final bell for a long trip to Central Bucks West and a night game under the War Memorial Field lights, the Council Rock North girls soccer team knew it needed to get energized. Few things bring up the energy faster than a team musical and for CRN, the production of choice is “The Greatest Showman”

It worked, as North came out rolling  and put on a show with a 3-1 win over the Bucks on Wednesday to start SOL crossover play.

“It was probably our music,” senior keeper Danielle Eden said. “We’re all singing it out. We love bus rides, that’s our go-to.”

CR North, which tied for the SOL Patriot title last fall, didn’t waste much time going at the hosts. It took a little while for the Indians to completely get on the same page, but that wasn’t enough to slow them down going forward off the tap with some of their top players on the ball able to get going.

Plus, having someone like Mia Cairone is a good way to get the show started while everyone else is still finding their places. The sophomore forward opened the scoring three minutes in with a sensational solo run after receiving a ball from Taylor Fischer near midfield.

After turning toward goal, Cairone put her first touch into space, shielded off an approaching defender to keep the ball then blasted a powerful shot through the hands of West keeper Jules Broskey, by no means an easy task, for the visitors’ opening act.

“We’re all motivated to play for each other, which is what it’s all about,” Cairone said. “We started strong for each other and finished the game out by all putting in a good effort. It was good to watch and play a part in.”

About 15 minutes later, Cairone went from lead act to supporting character as CRN doubled its lead. Tracking back over the midfield line, Cairone was able to settle a long ball out of the back and again showed some sublime touch, using a deft kick to split a West double team to get behind the defenders.

Her left-footed lasso was mostly on-target, clanging off the near post but soon cleaned up by Kayla Raghunanadanan on the far side of the box.

“After you get it to Mia’s feet, that’s a goal,” Eden said. “I think connecting passes and having everyone looking to get forward really played a role for us.”

West pulled a goal back with 16 minutes to play in the half. There was a spell of confusion, with the CR North defenders thinking the official had signaled for a foul and West kick but instead, he granted the Bucks a throw-in that they took quickly with freshman Emery Sterling able to tuck a shot in between Eden’s hands and the near post.

North (5-1-1, 4-1-1 SOL Patriot) posted its third goal just three minutes after West scored, quickly stemming any momentum the hosts had. Ottavia Copestick hit a terrific through pass that put Alyssa Tyler into a footrace with the charging keeper for the ball in space. Tyler got there a step first, the senior touching in the score to regain the advantage.

“We got scored on in the first three minutes of the game and just couldn’t find a rhythm after that. They get another goal and the next thing you know, we’re down 0-2. That’s hard to recover from,” West coach Mike Moyer said. “Our youth is starting to show. We just continued to miss goals and when you play good teams, you have to make the easy ones.”

The visitors’ mix of speed, size and skill had the Bucks (4-3-0, 4-3-0 SOL Colonial) playing on their back foot for most of the first half. After halftime, they showed some more organization and generated some more chances going forward, but between North’s back line and some standout keeping from Eden, it wasn’t enough to break through.That’s not to say Eden was unbothered in the first half. The senior keeper knew she would be facing a barrage of long balls and a direct style of play and was confident and aggressive coming off her line to deal with them.

Eden’s best play came near the midpoint of the first half on a West corner. She got up to punch the initial service away then with the ball still free in the box, raced after it and dove to cover it just before a crashing Bucks player could get there.

That, coupled with a diving save on Ashley Lott early in the second half to keep it 3-1, earned Eden some plaudits from the West coaches as well.

“Making saves is easy when I have my teammates helping me out,” Eden said. “I do the easy stuff, which is keeping the ball out of the net.”

Last season, CR North used the crossover slate to jump-start its season, then made a run through the second half of league play to end up sharing the division title and getting through a round of the district playoffs. Eden and Cairone both hope it’s a similar run this year with Cairone adding it’s valuable experience either way against the teams in the SOL Colonial.

If it keeps going like this, there may be a lot more bus ride musicals still to come.

“We’re all working really hard together,” Cairone said. “We have a lot of talent this year, but it’s been really good for us to start off the year so strong.”

COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 3 0 – 3

CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1 0 -1

Goals; CRN – Mia Cairone, Kayla Raghunandanan, Alyssa Tyler; CBW – Emery Sterling