By Rob Potter
JEFFERSONVILLE — October 29, 2004 – It was all even in the first half of Wednesday’s OCIAA Division IV girls’ soccer game at the Jeffersonville campus of the Sullivan West Central School District.
Neither visiting Highland nor Sullivan West could score a goal.
But the second half was a different story.
Highland senior Alissa Morano scored all three of her team’s goals as the Lady Huskies defeated the Lady Bulldogs by a final score of 3-0.
The officials ended the contest with just under 15 minutes remaining on account of darkness.
However, Morano had no problem seeing the goal cage in the first 25 minutes of the second half.
With 4:05 elapsed in the half, Morano kicked the ball into the SW net from about 10 yards away.
The Lady Bulldogs had a good chance to tie the match two minutes later when Heather Lander was able to head the ball towards the Highland goal cage. But the ball sailed just wide of the cage, resulting in a goal kick.
Then at the 14:23 mark, Morano scored her second goal from nearly the same exact spot as her first goal.
Nearly seven minutes later Morano completed her hat trick with her third unassisted goal of the match. This time she sent a high shot past SW goalie Karry Johnston, despite Johnston’s best efforts to stop the ball.
Johnston, however, did stop several other Highland shots in the match. She was credited with nine shots in the match.
Highland goalkeeper Ashley Hanhurst had five saves.
The three goals scored by Morano brought her career total up to 88.
Highland Coach Michelle Vona noted that the victory clinched the Division IV title for her squad. The Lady Huskies are now 15-2-1 overall and 11-0-1 in the division.
“They played us tight in the first half,” Vona said of the Lady Bulldogs. “We came out and played better in the second half.”
Vona noted her team will now prepare for the Section IX Class B tournament, which begins next week.
“It was a very good match,” SW Coach Mike Mahoney said. “We played very well in the first half. But we made two mistakes in the second half and that was the match.”
Mahoney noted that the Lady Bulldogs wanted to keep the ball on Morano’s right side, but could not do so.
The veteran coach praised Johnston and several other players for their efforts.
“Karry Johnston played fantastic,” Mahoney said. “She’s just a sophomore and is really blossoming into a good keeper.
“Kate Fanning, Sarah Lander, Jess Corbett and Nellie Norden all did a great job on defense,” Mahoney added.
SW ended its season with an overall record of 6-10 and 4-8 within Division IV.
“The seniors are disappointed because it’s the end of their high school career,” Mahoney noted.