Rams rise over Panthers

By Andrew Soong, October 3rd, 2012

The Vincent Massey Collegiate Rams downed the Laval Liberty High School Panthers 2-1 in Bantam girls' soccer Friday at Parc Marquette in Montreal.
“We implemented some changes in the second part of the first half and were able to score,” said Rams head coach Marco Rosa. “However, we slowed down a bit in the second, but stabilized and held them at bay.”
The Rams stormed into the first half scoring early with a goal by team captain Mia Carozza on the Rams home turf. However, the steadfast Panthers defence stopped multiple attempts, but seemed to falter their attempts to enter the Rams' crease. It was only in the closing minutes of the half that the Rams were able to secure their lead with a second goal by mid-fielder Emma Baggio ending the half with a 2-0 lead over the Panthers.
“We worked well together today, but we slowed down a bit in the second half and allowed them to score,” said Carozza about her team's second game of the season. “They managed to scored in the second half, but we mananged to keep the lead and win the game.”
Despite the cooler temperature, both teams played-on into the second half with the Panthers pushing harder towards the Rams' crease. The Panthers' push was rewarded minutes later with a goal by Zoey Roach-Griffith denying the Rams a shut-out. According to Panthers' head coach Rosangela Amicarelli “this is a team that plays with a lot of heart.”
“We picked-up the pace in the second half of the game,” said Amicarelli about her team's inaugural game of the season. “At the end of the first half it was terrible, but the team persevered in the second and stepped-up.”
The balance of the afternoon match-up remained scoreless as the Rams quickly closed ranks after their opponent's opening season goal. However, unlike the opening half of the game both teams seemed evenly matched ending the game with a final score of 2-1 for the Rams. Despite the loss Amicarelli was satisfied with the Panthers' first game and stated “the girls have come a long way since last year.”