Entering the game with a 9-1-1, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School women’s varsity soccer team faced the South Plantation Paladins. Occurring on Tuesday, Jan. 10, this was the final home game of the season for the Eagles, looking to finish the season on victories.

The game began with multiple turnovers by each team and a few missed shots on goal by the Eagles. Although the Eagles were able to get shot attempts off, the Paladins did the same.

The Eagles eventually ended up scoring with a kick by center back Katelyn Campanella (9), who ran past all the defending Paladins to give the Eagles the first lead of the game.

“Today I got the opportunity to play a different position,” Campanella said. “I was able to grow my game.”

The Eagles continued to dominate the shots on goal. They were making the South Plantation keeper have to work very hard to keep the Paladins in the game. Eventually, the Eagles were able to kick the ball into the goal, scoring their second goal of the game. Forward Emma McGregor (25) gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead.

“I thought we played really well as a team. Their movement off the ball was good to give each other support, and I think we had some great goals. We had really good combination play to end with nice finishes,” coach Laura Rountree said.

The last few minutes of the first half greatly benefited the Eagles. They continued to dominate through the Paladins’ defense, leading to more goals. To finish the second half, winger Alexa Jourdan (6) scored a hat trick, scoring three goals, to finish out the first half. The Eagles extended their lead to five goals.

The second half kicked off in the right direction for the Eagles. They were still fighting and did not stop scoring. Jourdan scored her fourth goal of the evening and boosted the Eagles lead once again to a total of 6-0.

“We were able to connect on more passes than we usually are able to,” Campanella said. “We opened up and looked for an open player.”

Moments before the clock hit double zeros, the Eagles were still fighting for goals. The team found the back of the net for the seventh time of the night following attacker Neima Bien-Aime (8) scoring a goal. Her goal closed out the game, as the referees blew their whistles, signaling that the game ended moments after. The Lady Eagles defeated the Paladins 7-0.

“We can always improve on our transition game,” Rountree said. “When we get out under a lot of pressure on a quick counter attack, our transition from offense to defense has to be quicker and more organized.”

The Eagles will face off at the Park Vista Cobras on Wednesday, Jan. 11. The team looks to keep their successful season alive.

Tags: MSD, Sports, Soccer, High School Soccer, Park Vista, South Plantation, Laura Rountree, Katelyn Campanella, Emma McGregor, Alexa Jourdan, Eagles,