NAUGATUCK — The Naugatuck girls soccer team may be young and a tad inexperienced, but the Greyhounds have brought their A game to every match this season.
That was evident on Tuesday as Naugatuck scored a 4-1 win over last year’s NVL runner-up, Holy Cross.
The Greyhounds spread the scoring around with all four goals coming in the first half. Bridget Rosikiewicz, Hailey Boulanger, Noelle Jacobi and Sofia Marques each scored for Naugatuck (3-1). Sydney O’Donnell made eight saves in goal.
Last Friday, the Greyhounds dropped their first match of the season, a 1-0 loss at home to Woodland.
The Greyhounds are a bit young up top with sophomores Paige Cruz and Alissa McNeil along with freshmen Emma Sonski and Jacobi. Naugatuck managed seven shots on goal against Woodland, but it was an early tally that decided this one with Karly Laliberte converting on a pass from Haley Andrews a little over two minutes into the game for the only score.
“We finished the game with four freshmen and two sophomores on the field, so yeah we are a pretty young team and it’s going to take some time for them to gain that confidence,” Naugatuck head coach Lisa Mariano said.
Seniors Alyana Sosa and Macie Best head up the midfield with freshmen Angelina Oliveria and Aalyiah Henry learning the position on the run.
The most experienced unit on the Greyhounds is the defense, which is led by seniors Erin Doris and Rosikiewicz along with juniors Marques and Mia Rotatori. That defensive presence has helped O’Donnell, a sophomore, in net.
O’Donnell managed to shut down Woodland the rest of the way, recording seven saves, but the lack of pressure from the Naugy offense kept the Greyhounds off the scoreboard.
“We have been working on trying to find the seams and making the proper runs. We have been getting better at practice and making progress, but our offense was just a little off today,” said Mariano following the Woodland game.
Naugatuck will finish out the week on Friday at Derby. Next week, the Greyhounds will visit Sacred Heart on Tuesday and host Brookfield on Wednesday.
