Steele-Norton closes in on record
I don't think the fine players from the Gunnery knew what hit them yesterday on Siberia (as we have fondly named our excellent grass field) as the lady Mustangs played a nearly flawless game, pressed with intensity, and shot with precision. Millbrook outshot the Highlanders 11 to 3 in the first half, and earned 7 penalty corners to Gunnery's 4. That being said, goalie Nelson made three excellent charging boot saves, venturing far out of the cage, playing with great confidence and assertiveness to squash Gunnery's scoring attempts. Gunnery is a team that always hustles and plays with intensity, holding Millbrook to just three goals in the first half. The first score for Millbrook came at 22:09 off a penalty corner. Steele-Norton injected to Burdis who passed to Chapman who passed back to Burdis who passed back to Chapman, a real ping-ponger, as Chapman eventually shot and Fallon's tip in found the back of the net. Assist to Chapman. At 19:55 Steele-Norton would score her first of three goals, an unassisted goal off a scrum in front of goal. Gunnery would score at 5:00 off a free hit from top of the circle that hit goalie Nelson's boot, hit the post, ricocheted behind her and was tipped in. A few minutes later, Steele-Norton would score a second unassisted goal. Millbrook would end the half with two penalty corners but was unable to capitalize.
The HIghlanders came out hard at the beginning of the second half and out hustled the Mustangs for a perilous ten minutes. Nelson would notch another great save snuffing a Gunnery fast break, but the Highlanders would score a second goal early in the half to make the score 3-2. Millbrook's hardy defense -- the trio of Small, Lavitt and Fracchia, played tough as always, Lavitt playing with calm and composure stopping several fast breaks with her fine block tackles; Small exiting the ball from the danger zone with great drives, and Fracchia hustling her heart out as always, saved the day. With 20 minutes left in the half, the Mustangs' offense re-awakened as we earned a penalty corner, Burdis launched a zinger and Fitzpatrick, perfectly placed, tipped the ball in from the right post. Ditto the play two minutes later except that Chapman would shoot the zinger and Fitzpatrick would tip in from exactly the same spot. Those two goals seemed to deflate the Highlanders who never recovered. Steele-Norton scored goal #3; Fallon would notch her second goal of the day off another scrum and Chapman would score the team's 8th goal off a perfect corner hit. Every member of the Millbrook team got on the field and made vital contributions to the team's overall success. Congratulations to Steele-Norton as she closes in on Fallon Cunningham's 1998 record for most goals scored in a season. With 1 game left in regular season and a sure bid to New Englands, Steele-Norton, who has scored 20 goals thus far, needs one to tie, and two to surpass Cunningham's impressive record.
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The HIghlanders came out hard at the beginning of the second half and out hustled the Mustangs for a perilous ten minutes. Nelson would notch another great save snuffing a Gunnery fast break, but the Highlanders would score a second goal early in the half to make the score 3-2. Millbrook's hardy defense -- the trio of Small, Lavitt and Fracchia, played tough as always, Lavitt playing with calm and composure stopping several fast breaks with her fine block tackles; Small exiting the ball from the danger zone with great drives, and Fracchia hustling her heart out as always, saved the day. With 20 minutes left in the half, the Mustangs' offense re-awakened as we earned a penalty corner, Burdis launched a zinger and Fitzpatrick, perfectly placed, tipped the ball in from the right post. Ditto the play two minutes later except that Chapman would shoot the zinger and Fitzpatrick would tip in from exactly the same spot. Those two goals seemed to deflate the Highlanders who never recovered. Steele-Norton scored goal #3; Fallon would notch her second goal of the day off another scrum and Chapman would score the team's 8th goal off a perfect corner hit. Every member of the Millbrook team got on the field and made vital contributions to the team's overall success. Congratulations to Steele-Norton as she closes in on Fallon Cunningham's 1998 record for most goals scored in a season. With 1 game left in regular season and a sure bid to New Englands, Steele-Norton, who has scored 20 goals thus far, needs one to tie, and two to surpass Cunningham's impressive record.
