Falmouth Girls Knocked Out By Oliver Ames

By: Rich Maclone
Published: 11/12/10

Defense was the calling card of the Falmouth High School girls’ soccer team all season long, but on Tuesday night on a slick artificial surface the Clippers were unable to mount one last big time stand against Oliver Ames High School.

The 14th-seeded Clippers dropped a 3-1 decision to third ranked Oliver Ames on the road to end their season at 8-4-8 overall.

Knotted up at 1-1 aside, Falmouth saw the Lady Tigers net two second half goals, both on shots from the doorstep, to take over the game and pull off the win on their home field under soggy and chilly conditions.

It didn’t take long into the second half for the Lady Tigers to stake themselves to the lead for the second time in the game. Michaela Simoneau netted what proved to be the game-winner just 3:57 into the second half with a shot from the top of the box that slid through traffic and found a crease, settling just inside the far post to give the home team the lead back after it had lost it late in the first half.

That goal fired up the home team and brought a ton of pressure on FHS goalie Tab Cardeiro and the defense in front of her. Shortly after the go-ahead goal Cardeiro was under a heavy barrage, making back-to-back saves with the latter catching her off the face. Despite having her cage rattled, Cardeiro hung in to make several more big stops along the way.

Unfortunately she could not halt the bid by Kristina Simonson eight minutes later. The OA midfielder got to a rolling ball inside the box and simply let one fly from in close. Cardeiro got a piece of the hot shot, but it caromed in off the goalie’s torso to make it 3-1.

With the wind and rain howling, and FHS trying to fight its way against the gusts, the team was unable to make any headway. Greer Gilbert had a nice bid midway through the second half that was just off the mark, and Tori Sciarrillo had a try with 20 minutes to go, but after that the Clippers’ offense was held in check.

Falmouth’s lone goal of the game came with just under four minutes to play in the first half. Trailing 1-0, thanks to a brilliant shot by OA’s Kendall Andrew just nine minutes in, Falmouth drew even with 3:55 left in the half. Senior Sarah Gordon netted a pretty goal for the Clippers from the top of the box, from out on the left wing, firing one that skipped off the goalie’s hand and nestled inside the far post to knot things up.

FHS Head Coach Greg Gilbert was pleased with the team’s effort. “We played hard. Those guys are really good,” Gilbert said. “We had a hard time in the second half going into the wind.”

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