By Ted Waddell
ROSCOE — November 1, 2005 – Sometimes the wait is worth it.
Last year at about this time of the soccer season, the Eldred Lady Yellowjackets defeated the Roscoe Lady Blue Devils, thus denying them a berth in the Section IX Class D tournament.
On Thursday afternoon, it was a case of turnabout is fair play as host Roscoe spoiled Eldred’s chances of qualifying for sectionals. The Lady Blue Devils bedeviled, bedazzled and befuddled the Lady Yellowjackets to post a 5-0 victory in the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division VI match.
The Lady Blue Devils’ win also avenged their one-goal, overtime loss to Eldred earlier this season.
The game, which was the Lady Blue Devils’ homecoming contest, featured a hat trick by Stacey Duffy and two goals by Kendra Harris.
In the first half, Roscoe (4-13, 2-5 Division VI) scored three goals.
The first came off Duffy’s foot on an assist by Kourtni Guzzo at 23:09. Then at 13:49, Harris scored on a follow-up shot after her initial goal had been negated by one of the referees.
At 8:49, Duffy teamed up with Harris to make it a 3-0 contest.
The second half scoring was all Duffy and Harris. At 15:02, Duffy scored on an assist from Harris. Then with 3:12 remaining on the scoreboard clock, they reversed roles as Harris beat Eldred goalkeeper Jamie Schombs thanks to an assist from Duffy.
From the sidelines, Sanford shouted encouraging words to his players who were sporting their white home jerseys.
“Come on ‘White,’ you’ve got to want it!,” he yelled loudly.
By recording five goals and holding Eldred (6-11, 3-5 Division VI) scoreless, the Lady Blue Devils clearly paid attention to their coach, whom they rewarded with an ice-water bath following the victory.
Roscoe goalie Kasse Brock made seven saves, while Schombs had 16 saves. The corner kicks were relatively even as the Lady Yellowjackets earned two and the Lady Blue Devils had one.
But Roscoe enjoyed a 32-9 advantage in shots on goal.
“I’ve been waiting for this team to show up all season,” Sanford said. “It’s a little late for us now, but I think it finally clicked for us. We played really well, and I’m proud of these girls.”
Duffy, a 17-year-old senior forward, was happy to score three goals in the final match of her scholastic soccer career.
“It was great, the whole game just slows down when you’re in front of the goal,” she said.
Harris, 17, is a senior striker. Her thoughts about scoring a couple of goals?
“It felt swell,” she replied.
Her take on knocking the Lady Yellowjackets out of sectionals a year after they prevented the Lady Blue Devils from advancing to postseason play?
“It had to be done,” Harris answered. “We had to prove we’re not a speed bump on the way to the sectionals!”