Crusaders take control

On Thursday, Oct. 16, the M-W girls soccer team traveled to Pine Bush to take on the Bushmen in a battle for first place. The Crusaders came into the game in first place with a 6-0 record in league play and the Bushmen were in second place with a 5-1 record.

The Crusaders beat the Bushmen when the teams played last month 2-1. The Bushmen had an advantage with an overall record of 13-1 to the Crusaders 12-2.

Early in the game the Crusaders took control and pushed the action into the Bushmen’s end of the field, but even though they had several good opportunities were unable to score. Then it was the Bushmen’s turn as they pushed the action down in front of the Crusaders’ goal but were also unable to score.

Finally, with time running out in the half, the Crusaders scored. Kyra Gilligan made a long run down the far sideline beat her defender and drew out the Bushmen’s goalie. She then fed Grace Gillette who broke down the middle and she shot it into the Bushmen’s goal with just three seconds left in the half to put the Crusaders up 1-0.

The second half started off just like the first one with the two teams locked in a defensive battle. With 12:26 left in the game, Aubrey Saliba made a quick pass across the top of the box to Kate Allen who ripped a shot past the Bushmen’s goalie and the Crusaders were up 2-0.

With two minutes left in the game, the Bushmen cut the lead in half with a goal off a scramble in front of the Crusaders goal off a corner kick. But the Crusaders regrouped and held off the Bushmen to secure a 2-1 victory and lock up first place in the AAA division. The Crusaders were scheduled to wrap up their regular season schedule by hosting Newburgh on Oct. 20.