Schools
Gators Fall 1-0 to Defensively Packed Severn
St. Paul's School for Girls has won once, lost twice in its last three soccer matches against the Admirals.
The Gators are now 1-2 in their last three matchups against IAAM conference rival Severn, after dropping a 1-0 nail-biter at home on Monday evening.
"I don’t think we tested them as we should have," soccer coach Don Keener said. "I think we have better players or at least we have more speed than they have in the backfield on our defense. However, we were so disorganized, which could have been a result of just five games in nine days."
The Admirals utilized a defensively heavy 5-3-2 lineup, forcing St. Paul’s strikers into multiple double-team opportunities. The Gators were forced to the outside where their shots were too tight against the goal line.
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Gator goal keeper Tiffany McKee was forced to make 12 saves, her second double-digit total of the season. Her improvement from is noticeable, coming out of the box to assist the defense in getting the ball out of the area and throwing herself at shots.
"Tiffany, when she showed up at tryouts this year, she had noticeably improved and mainly with her confidence," Keener said. "Her goal every game is to make two or three fabulous saves and she's done that to a tee. … She kept us in the game."
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The Gators’ defense, notably Cassie Smith and Maggie Furlong as well as Rachel Henderson at sweeper, limited Severn’s chances at goal.
The Admirals goal came at 34:12 in the first with McKee out of goal. Smith attempted to save it, but it slipped into the left corner, the same spot where McKee would make an amazing save just 20 minutes later.
St. Paul's stands at 4-2 so far this season. The Gators next match is again St. Vincent Pallotti High School at 4 p.m. Sept. 26.
