Pawling Tiger Soccer 2 Dobbs Ferry 1 in Overtime

Team play was on display in the Pawling 2-0 win at home over Dobbs Ferry on September 18, as the Tigers are showing the positive effects of coach Kerry Pinelli’s positioning drills at practice.

Pinelli said after the game, “Today was a much better result for us! During this last week we worked a lot on passing to feet, settling the ball and communicating.

”The game opened up well with the girls being very aggressive and moving the ball quickly. In the first half, we possessed the ball in our attacking third but did not get off many shots, only three shots. In contrast, Dobbs Ferry had a ton of shots, seven, but did not possess the ball for long.

“Jessie D'Ottavio really made the difference here with some key saves for the team.”

Roster: Nikki Piazza, Kaitlin Basso, Andrea Benegas, Emma Carlson, Jessica D'Ottavio, Kady Rotondo, Rebecca Paugh, Veronica Liffland, Jenica Ross, Elizabeth Broderick, Maria Gaitan, Ariana Muscente, Starla Castle and Brianna Dapolito.

Pawling is blessed with tremendous speed and athleticism, and needs only to have the team play catch up with the natural talent. The Tigers still lose some of their power when they flail at the ball instead of taking their time and getting their feet set, and they are wasting chances on goal for the same reason, but those are things that are easily corrected as the Tigers gain confidence in one another and coach Pinelli. They will rush less, and play with more strength and purpose as the continue to improve.

Right wing Nikki Piazza scored both goals for Pawling. The first goal came in the first period, when Caitlin Basso won the ball in the midfield, beat two midfielders and sent a beautiful through pass to the right side. Piazza shouldered her way through two defenders, caught up to the pass as she emerged in the clear on a fast run toward the goal, drew the keeper, and chipped it over her head for the 1-0 lead.

Dobbs Ferry tied it at 1-1 just before the half time break.

“The girls went back into the second half with their tie with the determination to get the win,” Pinelli said. “We discussed the few things that we still needed to work on, such as our first touch on the ball and winning the ball from goal kicks and throw-ins. They were happy with the way they were playing and working as a team.

“In this half, Dobbs passed the ball more than we did, which showed with their six shots on goal and our solo shot on goal. Again, Jessie held us in the game at this point.

“The winning goal came at nine minutes into the first overtime half on a direct kick from Nikki Piazza. We had earned a direct kick just outside the penalty box. Becky Paugh took the kick and chipped it nicely over the wall. The shot missed, but luckily for us, one of the opponents committed a foul when she took it, so she was given a yellow card and we were awarded another free kick. Nikki took it and sent the ball into the upper right hand corner of the net, solidifying our win.

“Jenica Ross had a strong game back on defense working hard to cover ground in the back. Emma Carlson also played well drooping back from the midfield to defend for a lot of the game. Brianna Dapolito played her first varsity game as a forward and showed much promise for the future with her speed and aggressive play.”

In the first overtime with the score 1-1, Piazza took a direct kick from just a yard outside the 18-yard line. She lofted it over the Dobbs wall of defenders, and watched as it just clipped the under side of the bar and ricocheted downward. The Dobbs keeper was right below the bar, where the ball hit her on the shoulders and was re-directed into the net for the goal, the 2-1 lead, and as it turned out, the game-winning goal.

Jessica D’Ottavio was outstanding in this game with 18 saves. D’Ottavio was actually a bit shy and polite in her first year in goal last season for Pawling, but this season, she is a monster in goal. She is aggressive, flying in all directions to make spectacular saves, diving at the feet of attacking forwards, and displaying what is really awesome athletic ability. A Black Belt in Karate, earned at the local David Weiss Karate School, D’Ottavio is a remarkable athlete who is becoming a brilliant goalkeeper.

Liz Broderick may not be the biggest player on the field, but she plays as big as anyone, and she may have the biggest heart on the field. Dobbs Ferry tried to foul her and beat on her and grab her and take her down any way they could, but Broderick stood up to every bit of it, dominated her area, and turned her defensive corner into a dead zone for the Dobbs offense.