Daniels, Wildcats Topple Stratford

While she didn’t find the back of the net herself, Lucy Daniels certainly had the biggest impact of anyone on the field in the Bethel High girls soccer win over Stratford High. Daniels assisted on all three goals as the Wildcats (2-0) made the most of their set pieces and won 3-0.

“Lucy was outstanding today,” Coach Mitch Trainor said. “We moved her from the left side of the field to the right, and she just performed great. She was able to get her first touch, beat her defender and put in great crosses all game.”

Daniels setup the ‘Cats first goal early in the game with a perfect cross on a free kick from the corner that Elisa Navarro got a head on.

The Wildcats narrowly missed on a corner kick a few minutes later, and held onto a one goal lead throughout the rest of the half thanks to a pair of late saves by goalkeeper Danika Wagener.

With less than 10 seconds left, the Red Devils sent in a corner kick that Wagener punched away, before another Red Devil got to the loose ball and fired a shot at net that Wagener held onto as the whistle blew.

“That was awesome,” Trainor said. “Danika did great in the back, that save at the end of the half was just an outstanding grab. To come in at the half and talk about it, we kept it 1-0, we’re up. Don’t worry about it, and start fresh from here. We used that to kind of turn everything around, started the second half out great.”

Wagener finished with five saves, but was hardly tested again as the Wildcats took control of the game once the second half began.

For most of the second half the Wildcats controlled the play, but were unable to increase their lead until Daniels setup for another free kick. This time she lofted a kick from the right sideline to Alex Hernandez at the center of the penalty box. Hernandez settled the ball and then fired a shot over the outstretched hands of the Red Devils’ goalie.

A minute later Daniels and the Wildcats struck again. This time sent in a corner kick that was put in by Monique Agoora.

“The last week we’ve been working on our set pieces a lot,” Trainor said. “Our corner kicks and free kicks. Today they just executed perfectly. It’s great to have Lucy to be able to cross the ball into the middle with such accuracy.”

Throughout the game Trainor said he consistently swapped out forwards and moved his players around, saving his team’s energy and allowed for the late surge.

“[It] keeps everyone fresh, and it changes things up a little bit,” Trainor said. “The sweeper is very good on this team, so we wanted to make sure we had some fresh legs to keep them busy in the back and it worked out today.”

The Wildcats’ next game is Monday at home against Newtown High. The game starts at 3:45 p.m. and will be played at Rourke Field.