Cardinals fly past Lakers, 3-0

SUNAPEE, N.H. – Two local teams having stellar seasons squared off in Sunapee on Friday with a good crowd on hand. Stevens quickness and physical play proved to be too much as they handed Sunapee only its second loss of the year, 3-0 in a tune up for both teams headed toward top seeds in their respective divisions for the upcoming playoffs.

The Cardinals’ Jenna Pond wasted no time giving Stevens a lead, as her blast found the net off a beautiful feed from Tanner Brown with the game barely 2 minutes old.

The Cardinal attack continued with Audrey Puksta’s breakaway bid thwarted by a great tackle by Sylvia Dalton but the Cardinals pressure would build. Brooke Bonneau fired off two strong hits in a row that Abby Rowell handled for Sunapee. Pond kept drilling deep crosses from the corner as Brown, Ashlyn Marsh and Bonneau were swarming the midfield area keeping Stevens in attack mode for long stretches of time. Ellee Grenier’s deep push to the flag resulted in a switch to Sydney Miller near the top of the goal box and her shot rang off the cross bar and into the goal for a 2-0 Stevens lead midway into the first half.

“We came out hard and with a purpose tonight against a very good Sunapee team,” said Stevens coach Tom Belaire after the game.

That hard play continued with another Bonneau blast and save as Sunapee was in a defensive survival mode. Audrey Puksta added to her Stevens single-season scoring record with a shot from point blank off a dish from Hannah Miller to put Stevens ahead 3-0 heading into the break, giving her 34 goals on the season.

“Sunapee marked me hard all night and it was good to be able to contribute, and this style of play is just what I needed to get ready for a playoff run,” said Puksta after the field had cleared.

In the first half, Sunapee’s scoring machine Marybeth Groton attracted lots of company whenever she touched the ball, as LeeAnn McCarthy, Zahna Rice and Alexis Aiken made things difficult for the Sunapee offense as they closed gaps and space quickly.

“I thought we executed really well tonight and our overlapping play with our defense worked perfectly,” said Rice after the game.

Sunapee started to take some momentum away from Stevens as the second half wore on. They tried to use the corners for deep passes in attempt to soften up the Cardinal defense. Abby Pollari’s blast tested Stevens’ Kaitlyn Chambers but Chambers deflected the shot from her knees and pushed it toward the sidelines. The Lakers were quicker to the 50/50 balls and a collision resulted in a direct kick off the foot of Ellie Frederick that just missed as Sunapee was gaining confidence. Sunapee coach Myles Cooney’s squad limited any Stevens offensive threats as Liz Nichols shadowed Puksta all over the field.

“We came out with a determined effort tonight and didn’t let up at all. We knew Sunapee is a very good team so we needed to be better,” said Brown after the game.

Chambers would end up with the shutout for the 10th time this year as Stevens closed out the night with a 3-0 win as the Cardinal defensive backs were dominating.

“Stevens came out strong and with a purpose tonight,” said Sunapee head coach Myles Cooney and called tonight’s loss “a humbling experience.” He added, “I think this might be just what we needed heading into the playoffs… we need to have strong practices and I know our effort will be there when it counts.”

On the Stevens sidelines, coach Belaire was pleased with his club’s effort.  “This was a great way to end the regular season by playing our brand of soccer,” he said. “The girls really stepped up tonight with Tanner Brown and Brooke Bonneau probably playing their best games of the year. Chambers came off her line when she had to and her aggressive play made a big difference as well.”

Sunapee will most likely keep the No. 1 seed in Division 4 with a 15-2 record, while Stevens hopes that their 13-3 record will keep them in one of the top 4 spots. Seeding will be announced by the beginning of next week.