DERBY — The Woodland girls’ soccer team traveled to Derby Monday and rolled over the Red Raiders in a lopsided affair. The Hawks netted six goals in the opening 20 minutes and went on to win in decisive fashion, 9-0.
The scoring commenced in the third minute of the game when Steph Dumond received a pass from Riley Shaw near the touchline and ripped a low-lining shot that deflected off the keeper’s leg then off the post and in.
Dumond didn’t waste any time before adding another goal. Just three minutes later, she got a touch on a beautiful cross by Marisa Mills sending the ball into the top netting for the score.
Dumond didn’t need any help for her next goal, which came in the ninth minute. She received the ball about 25 yards out, beating several Derby defenders before she found her way inside the 18-yard box and slotted the ball bottom-right past Derby keeper Chantel Dumas.
A fourth goal for Dumond came just minutes later when she took a pass from Keri DiBiase and again beat the keeper near post for the early 4-0 lead. Dumond was all over the field and is getting continually stronger each match.
“Steph’s really continuing to improve,” Coach Joe Fortier said. “She works hard on things we go over in practice and puts them into action here in games.”
The flurry of goals continued and others got into the mix when DeBiase sent a crisp pass to center midfielder Raven Palmerie, who ripped a shot from 20 yards out that beat the keeper.
Jehna Kemp capped off the scoring in the first half when she found the back of the net off a well-timed cross by Audra Blewitt in the seventeenth minute, bringing the Hawks to a commanding 6-0 lead.
The Hawks used the remainder of the first half to hone in on their skills, passing the ball precisely and distributing touches all over the field. Woodland controlled the ball almost exclusively and looked impressive switching the field and stringing together several passes.
“They did a nice job overlapping and moving to space,” Fortier said. “They played to feet and everyone was always moving without the ball.”
After assisting on two goals in the first half, DeBiase got one of her own to start the scoring in the second half when she received a pass by Mills in the middle of the box and slid it in the back of the net for the goal in the 43rd minute.
Palmerie added her second goal minutes later when she got a foot on a DeBiase cross that fell in front of the Derby keeper.
The final goal of the game came in the 50th minute when a shot by Dumond was deflected by the keeper and pounced on by Mills who slotted it into the back of the net.
Much like the first half, Woodland knocked the ball around and held possession instead of going to goal in the last 30 minutes of the match.
The Hawks scored on almost every opportunity they had and capitalized every time an opportunity arose, something Fortier thought they were not able to do in an earlier tie at Ansonia.
“In the beginning of the season, our shot selection and shot accuracy lacked. The last few games we’ve took the extra touch, got the shots and took what the defense gave us.”
The Hawks should face a tougher challenge when they host Seymour on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
