NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ- The Pioneers held off the Union Catholic High School Vikings by a final score of 1-0 Tuesday afternoon in New Providence behind a goal by Junior Alana Ponte.
Ponte took one look towards the net and banked home the shot to put her team ahead by a score of 1-0. Ponte’s third goal of the season, assisted by senior Sophia Marinello, came at the 14:17-mark of the second half.
The New Providence High School girls varsity soccer team were off to a slow start, but once the second half started, the Pioneers created chances, but none of them were falling in. In the second half, it took one sequence and perfect set-up near the halfway mark of the second half to change the slow-paced game.
The teams played to a stalemate in the first half, with both sides trading passes, but no major scoring opportunities during the first 40 minutes of play. Despite the two teams being scoreless at halftime, their adjustments made at halftime showed as they set up their chances and eventually scored the one goal to take the lead.
“What we talked about at halftime was taking our opportunities that present themselves,” New Providence head coach Scott Murphy said. “In the first half, we had like three shots and we were giving up a lot of opportunities to shoot because we were trying to set up the perfect shot.”
“So, at halftime, we talked about someone stepping up and looking to score the goal and being aggressive offensively,” he added.
Full Coverage of New Providence’s Home Win Over Union Catholic Here
