The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School women’s varsity soccer team played against Pompano Beach High School on Monday, Nov. 13 at Cumber Stadium. The game ended with a final score of 6-1, in favor of the Eagles.
This was the first home game of the season for the Lady Eagles and their second game of the season, following a 1-0 loss on Thursday, Nov. 9 at American Heritage Delray Beach. On the other side, the Pompano Beach Tornadoes entered the matchup with a 2-0-1 record with wins against Monarch High School and Everglades High School, and a draw against Coral Glades High School.
The game began with the Eagles dominating possession over the Tornadoes, with many shot attempts that were unable to fall. However, about halfway through the first half, the Eagles took an early 1-0 lead with a goal from right back Alessia Frenquellucci (20).
Shortly after the Eagles goal, the Tornadoes caught the Eagles off guard and moved the ball down the field. This resulted in a goal for Pompano Beach, tying the game up at 1-1. This was the final goal of the first half and the game was tied entering halftime.
“Well, we had a little bit of a sluggish first half going into halftime,” Head Coach Laura Rountree said. “Pompano is a much improved team and came out and fought really hard, even got a goal on us. Our movement off the ball improved in the second half and we were able to have some good execution in our final third, which meant we were able to score some goals.”
The Eagles began the second half strong as they wasted no time to get on board. Right wing Emma McGregor (25) found the back of the net in the opening minutes following halftime. The Eagles retained their lead with a score of 2-1 after the goal.
MSD continued to attain possession, leading towards many offensive opportunities. Shortly after the goal from McGregor, forward Breanna Gordon (22) scored her first goal of the game, putting the Eagles up 3-1.
“In the first half, I had trouble moving the ball across the field,” Gordon said. “But in the second half my movement was better.”
The Eagles second half performance did not stop as forward Layla Segelnick (15) scored back-to-back goals. These two goals, which were scored within minutes of each other, lead to the Eagles taking a 5-1 lead over the Tornadoes.
“I think I did good at getting the ball off the field and making moves past the defenders, crossing it and finishing,” Segelnick said.
As the second half neared its end, striker Neima Bien-Aime (8) gave the Eagles extra insurance as she scored her first goal of the game. This goal gave the Eagles a 6-1 lead.
The game shortly ended following the goal by Bien-Aime with a final score of 6-1, in favor of the Eagles.
“[For the next game] we got to come out hard from the start,” Roundtree said. “We’ve got two games on Thursday and one Friday against two very strong teams, so we have to play two halves of soccer and expect to come out on top.”
Following the win, the Lady Eagles will play their next game on Thursday, Nov. 16 against North Broward Preparatory School. This game will be on the road for the Eagles as they travel to Coconut Creek with hopes to improve to 2-1 for the season.
