Soccer
The kids are all right
York girls dump Cape, 2-0
By Uwe Seeler
Strong on the ball. The York Wildcats swarm in front of the Cape Elizabeth goal in last Friday's 2-0 win at York. Shown here are Emily Boone (3), Kiah Voyer-Colbath (7), Stephanie Plaisted (9) and, in the background, Emma Clark. Boone, in the thick of things all night, scored both goals in the York win.
Photo by Lev Yashin
YORK - The talk was that this kid had a nice touch on the ball, but she was still a little soft.
That she had a sweet shot, but she needed to get more aggressive.
That she had a nose for the goal, but she still played a little young for varsity.
It was that kind of talk. Off the field talk, sideline talk.
But the scoreline has its own language. There are no yes-buts that show up on the scoreline. Just what happened on the field. In this case, what happened on the field last Friday night, Sept. 8, at York.
York goal scored by number 3, sophomore Emily Boone, unassisted, at the 30-minute mark of the first half.
York goal scored by number 3, sophomore Emily Boone, unassisted, with 3:45 left in the second half.
Final score: York 2, Cape Elizabeth 0. Both goals scored in a scramble, players fighting for the ball on both sides, and one player getting it and finishing it. Both times. Sophomore Emily Boone. Now that's what we're talking about.
The Wildcats pressured in this game from the start with senior Tri-Captain Morgan Taylor laying in two dangerous crosses in the early minutes. At the 11-minute mark, with York already ahead 1-0 on Boone's first goal, last week's star of the match, Chelsey Tewell, just missed on a header fed in from Boone.
A brief period of pressure from Cape allowed for a dangerous shot that missed just wide to York keeper Brooke Simpson's right. After winning the ensuing goal kick, Cape threatened a dangerous buildup, but right back Michaela Schilling's strong move stripped the attacker and she cleared the ball to safety.
York resumed attacking in the closing minutes, with Tri-Captain Stephanie Plaisted just missing from 15 yards. Throughout the half, freshman Emma Clark showed strong in the middle, and Taylor caused all kinds of trouble for the Cape defenders unable to deal with her strength and speed up top.
The start of the second half saw junior center-mid Kiah Voyer-Colbath keeping the pressure on, but at the 35-minute mark, Cape earned a corner against the run of play. An assertive Simpson went up strong for the corner, grabbing it in cleanly and clearing out the defenders in her area.
At the 18:40 mark, sophomore back Meredith Reid went down hard after a harsh challenge on the ball and left the game with an injury to her knee. In then for Reid, freshman Kayla Weston, and the defense never missed a beat.
Cape nearly got lucky on a hopeful shot from long range that caught Simpson off her line, but that was it for offense from the visitors.
Afterwards, Coach Wally Caldwell praised the continued solid team defense shown by the Wildcats as being the key to the game.
"We took them out of their game," said Caldwell of the strong Cape forwards. "After a while, I think they just got frustrated."
Another well-earned victory against a Class A powerhouse. Another standout performance from the youngsters. Another solid, reliable game by the upperclassmen that hold the show together. A trip to highly-ranked Falmouth up next tonight, Wednesday, Sept. 13.
And what about it for these young Wildcats? Play on.
