Box Score
Allentown, PA
he Cedar Crest Falcons secured their first conference win this past Tuesday in their last home game against the Baptist Bible Defenders.
With no conference wins under either teams' belt, the Falcons and Defenders came out strong, both looking to secure their first win in conference play. Â The battle for the win started as soon as the whistle blew to start the game, as the play went back and forth between the teams both trying to break the ice and score first. The Falcons found the net first in the 7th minute as Junior, Kim Barry (Greentown, PA/Wallenpaupack Area) hit a perfectly struck ball in the upper corner, leaving the Defender's goal keeper with no chance of saving it. This goal made the Falcons hungry for another, the offensive duo of Allison Rittle (Fredericksburg, PA/Northern Lebanon) and Courtney Long (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh), gave the Defenders defense a hard time, ripping shots left, right, and center. The Falcons would go on to score "twice as nice" as Kim Barry (Greentown, PA/Wallenpaupack Area) (below) hit the same exact strike as she did for the first in the 43rd minute to help the Falcons go up 2-0 before the end of the half. Barry's second goal was assisted by Allison Rittle (Fredericksburg, PA/Northern Lebanon).
The Defenders came out strong in the second half looking to play catch up, but the Falcons worked tirelessly to keep them from scoring. The Falcons remained on top, until the referee awarded a penalty to the visiting Defenders in 54th minute, which the Baptist Bible player slotted by goalkeeper, Krysten Gillan (Maple Shade, NJ/Maple Shade H.S.). Although leading 2-1 still the Falcons didn't take their foot off the gas, as they were constantly on attack, trying to expand the lead. Leading goal –scorer, Courtney Long (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh), had the fans on the edge of their seat, as she sped up the field on many occasions with some great opportunities. Her frustration from not scoring was beginning to show, but she kept going at the Defenders, and eventually secured her 12th goal of the season in the 83rd minute. Long ended the game with 15 shots.
At the end of the game, coach Sarah Wolcott said " We played a hard fought match today, our first half was especially outstanding. I was really proud of how we worked together today. Kim Barry (Greentown, PA/Wallenpaupack Area) stepped up and scored two huge goals for us. Courtney Long (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh) (above) has been struggling to find the back of the net – and she scored a beautiful goal today. I knew Baptist Bible wouldn't give up, and they put us under a lot of pressure, but we dealt with it well, and Kortney Graff (Northampton, PA/Allentown Central Catholic) and Breeona Lewis did an excellent job leading us from the back."
With the win, the Falcons improve to a 3-11-0 overall record and 1-6-0 in CSAC play. The Falcons will be looking to continue their winning streak on the road for their next game as they play Gwynedd-Mercy College on Saturday the 19th at 12pm.
