After a 4-0 trouncing of Turner Ashby on the road just last week, William Monroe girls soccer picked up a season sweep of the Knights with a 2-1 win at home in very cold and relatively slippery conditions.
“They definitely came out from the get go and tried to frustrate us,” said Monroe coach Jeremy Lamm. “We weren’t clicking tonight in the first half at all. A 2-1 win, you love the grit, you love the fight and watching them get that win. But we can be better than this.”
The Dragons picked up both of their goals in just a three minute span in the second half on a pair of breakaways from freshman Sydney Dombrovskis. Just before Dombrovskis first goal, she and Arianna Mosqueda fire off shots with Dombrovskis just missing wide right and Mosqueda’s attempts getting smothered by Turner goalkeeper Hope Showalter. It was a welcome sign after a first half only feature two real scoring threats, both from Monroe’s Ashley Harrison who had one shot sail to the left of the post and the other saved by Showalter.
But after a quick flurry to start the second half, Dombrovskis broke loose and put the Dragons up 1-0 with a nice move to give her an easy path past Showalter.
“We didn’t come out in the first half very strong so we talked to our coaches at halftime,” Dombrovskis said. “It clicked more (after that), our passes were more accurate and we started trusting each other more in the center to get it out to the wings and I think that’s what resulted in the two goals. It wasn’t just me taking it up. It was the progress of moving it up the field.”
Monroe didn’t have to wait long to get some insurance, just under three minutes. On a very similar looking play, Dombrovskis once again got free near midfield and tucked in another to make it 2-0.
“She’s a phenomenal player and while all the other girls have been together for a while, she hasn’t so were just working all around on trying to get comfortable chemistry wise,” Lamm said. “She’s a new and it’s going to take more work for us all but you watch her and you can just see that strength and speed she has. It’s all there.”
The Knights would recover though. Forward Grace Mowery’s speed proved problematic all evening. While the Dragons were able to stymy a handful of runs down the left side of the field, Mowery earned her team a solid possession with just over 20 minutes left. Megan Lough wound up finishing the job for the Knights to cut it to 2-1.
“You know I thought our backs, Layla Morris and Olivia Binggelli, that both played with great IQ back there and kept (Mowery) from getting more,” Lamm said.
From there, while Monroe continued to apply pressure win the bulk of the 50-50 battles, Mowery and company had a handful of chances two. However, Monroe’s defense held on for the last 20 minutes and sophomore keeper Anna Barrett was clutch in goal as she finished with six saves on the night.
“She played one game for us last year and got us a 0-0 tie with Brentsville,” Lamm said. “With our starting keeper Ellena Williams getting hurt, Anna has stepped up. She, Ellena and sister Sophie Williams have all been working together to make this work out. Anna’s been great.”
The Dragons (2-1) will get the week off and resume play hosting rival Madison County on April 10.
