By Livingston Manor
LIVINGSTON MANOR — October 12, 2007 — Wednesday afternoon’s girls’ varsity soccer match put one team on the road to the Hudson Valley Sports Dome, while the other team has to win its last three games of the regular season to even stand a chance of making it to the upcoming sectionals.
The host Livingston Manor Lady Wildcats defeated The Family School Lady Falcons, 5-1, in an Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division VI match.
With the victory, the Lady Wildcats pretty much assured themselves of a spot in the upcoming Section IX Class D tournament. The final match in the tourney will be played at the Hudson Valley Sports Dome in Milton.
Manor’s Valentina Babich scored first at 1:45, which was followed up by another Lady Wildcats goal at 12:15 by Marissa Diescher off an assist from Jessie Simmons.
The Family School (3-8-2, 1-3-1 Division VI) made it a 2-1 contest as Mary Schmeider scored off a lead pass from the outside by Yacaira O’Connor. Schmeider split the defense, ended up in a foot race with Manor goalie Angela Trotti, and put the ball into the net on a second chance effort.
The home team closed out the first half with a goal by Diescher off an assist from Valentina Babich.
Manor (6-6, 5-0 Division VI) enjoyed a 3-1 advantage at halftime.
In the second half, it was all Lady Wildcats as they scored two unanswered goals.
Simmons fired one into the net off an assist by Diescher and Christine Babich scored off a header from Melissa Lair.
Family School Coach Scott MacDonald’s reaction to the match was summed up in one word.
“Disappointing,” he said.
“We started off slow, and they capitalized very quickly,” MacDonald added. “They were up 2-0, so we played catch up as much as we could, but we couldn’t complete the task.”
Manor held the advantage in shots on goal (19-14) and corner kicks (7-2). Trotti made 11 saves, while Family School goalie Joanna Grebb had 13 saves.
After the Lady Wildcats took a few days off to nurse some nagging injuries, it was back to practicing their passing game on Tuesday, and apparently it was worth the effort.
“Our passing game was nice, it’s improved a great deal,” Manor Coach Shirlee Davis said.
“We’re looking forward to going back to the dome.”