By Rob Potter
ROSCOE — October 19, 2007 — An early one-goal deficit didn’t faze The Family School Lady Falcons on Wednesday afternoon.
The Family School fell behind 1-0 to host Roscoe in an Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division VI girls’ soccer match when Lady Blue Devil striker Rae Verona scored with 36 minutes and 37 seconds remaining in the first half.
Verona was standing among a group of players when the ball came near her. With the ball hovering in front of her about 2 feet above the ground, Verona extended her right foot and booted the ball over her shoulder. It sailed past Lady Falcon goalkeeper Joanna Grebb and into the middle of the goal net.
Sophomore midfielder Taylor DeVantier assisted Verona on the goal.
But The Family School (5-9-2, 2-4-1 Division VI) responded by scoring a pair of goals later in the first half to record a 2-1 victory.
Lady Falcon midfielder Betty Weaver tied the score at 1-1 with a successful penalty kick at 26:43. Weaver beat Roscoe goalie Kasse Brock with a high shot to Brock’s left.
Tonianne Primiano scored the game-winning goal about six minutes later. Seconds after a Lady Falcons’ corner kick, several players and the ball were in the Roscoe goal box. Primiano gained control of the ball and kicked it into the back of the net.
Weaver assisted Primiano on the tally.
Roscoe (1-13-1, 0-4-1 Division IV) outshot the Lady Falcons 16 to 13, but could manage to get only one of those shots into the net.
The Lady Blue Devils also held a slight advantage in corner kicks, 10-8.
Grebb made 11 saves, while Brock had six saves
Family School Coach Scott MacDonald noted that a key factor in the match was that his players did not panic when they fell behind on the scoreboard.
“We’ve fallen behind in many of our matches this season,” he said. “So, these girls are used to it. But they never stop competing, no matter the score. They have a really great work ethic.”
MacDonald also felt that Weaver’s penalty kick was a key moment in the contest.
“That was big, it gave us a momentum boost,” he said.
Roscoe Coach Amanda Davis noted that her team had trouble sustaining its momentum throughout the match.
“We got off to a really great start,” she said. “But then The Family School scored on the penalty kick and that was that.
“We kind of went flat for a while,” Davis added. “Then we started playing kick ball and we couldn’t get it back. We tried really hard, but we could get the momentum back.”