TRUMBULL ATHLETIC CONFERENCE Hubbard takes control

The Eagles routed Girard 8-1 to stay unbeaten in league play.
By JOHN BASSETTI
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
GIRARD -- Amanda Fisher scored her first goal in her second varsity start, Mary Newberry played her first full game of the season where she normally doesn't, Colleen Sullivan provided excellent support as midfielder and Anna DeJulio got back in the scoring mix.
Throw in the backfield play of junior Brittany McKee and that didn't leave too much, including goalie Lynle Cornell, who faced only two shots, as Hubbard High beat Girard, 8-1, in a Trumbull Athletic Conference girls soccer match Thursday at Arrowhead Stadium. In addition to Fisher, seniors Jami Duvall and DeJulio had two goals apiece, while Sullivan, a senior; junior Jaimie Madeline and sophomore Christina Adams had one apiece.
Few answers
Jenny Sopkovich scored for Girard to make it 2-1, but the Indians (2-3-1, 0-3-1) couldn't dent the scoreboard again against the state's No. 2-ranked team in Division II.
The game's first tally, at 37:19, actually came off the shoulder of a Girard defender on the far side of the goal, but Fisher kicked it hard enough from her left flank position to sufficiently cover the distance.
Less than two minutes after the freshman's unassisted goal, Duvall recorded her first point.
"Sullivan passed it in the air from the right side and I saw the goalie come out," said Duvall, Hubbard's center forward. "Then I kicked it in on the fly from about 10 yards out."
Madeline, a left midfielder, made it 3-1 at 22:30 of the first half with her left-footed kick from about 10 yards out. DeJulio got the assist after collecting the ball at midfield, then working it upfield.
Putting it away
Newberry had a hand in the next two goals to give the Eagles a 5-1 lead.
Duvall's second goal was just the finishing touch on what started as Newberry's monster free kick. Again, DeJulio retrieved the ball and passed it to Duvall who made a left-footed shot just inside the right post of Girard's goal. The total distance of the play that concluded at 13:48 was about 65 yards.
Adams, a forward on the right side, scored at 10:23 by tapping a long ball that Newberry, a junior, initiated with a 55-yard blast. Newberry, whose speed helps her cover sideline to sideline, normally plays forward, but was moved to defense by coach Dennis Smith.
DeJulio completed the first-half scoring with a score from 35 yards away at 1:17 to make the score 6-1.
Hubbard (6-1, 4-0 TAC) took 24 shots on goal in the first half and 17 in the second. Girard goalie Angela DiPiero made nine saves in the first half and 12 in the second. The Indians took a shot each half with Cornell saving one.
Smith said his girls were out-numbered in the midfield, but it didn't concern him much because he knew that the Eagles were quicker.
Matchups
"Girard was in a 4-4-2 alignment and we were in a 4-3-3, so we were out-manned. We got some scoring from some we normally don't," he said of DeJulio, a center midfielder who had been hobbled by a hamstring injury.
Smith also credited freshman Megan May for guarding Sopkovich, Girard's top threat. "She made one mistake, but generally, did a pretty good job on her."
DeJulio scored Hubbard's seventh goal with 15:51 remaining in the game with an assist from junior Kristen Eli, while Sullivan, a right midfielder, made a high, left-footed kick into goal with 2:58 left.
"We made couple of errors that cost us goals that other teams may not have been able to capitalize on," Girard coach Agostino Ragozzino said. "Plus, they have good strikers who are fast and are able to put the ball in.
"Our goalie, Angela DiPiero, had to make a lot of saves. She played like a brick wall. Our girls kept their heads in it and played to the end."
Two senior defenders putting up resistance for Girard were Sara Ravella and Rachel Cubellis.