By Christopher Shaban
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT— Patty Deschaine’s Cardinal stickers seem to have found something as they have a three-game winning streak in their pockets after beating Kearsarge 6-0 on Thursday.
Taylor Bell got the scoreboard going with a flick early that was followed by Izabela Eitapence’s goal to grab a 2-0 lead as the Cardinals were all over the field. With Daniella Varela and Jill Ouellette denying all Kearsarge would be attacks, the Cardinals were looking for more before the break and got it when Richelle Girard planted one into the goal off a deflection just before the break as Stevens walked into half with a big 3-0 cushion.
“We have been working on lots of things and tonight I think we saw some results of that, we have a long way to go but tonight we hit our stride,” said Deschaine.
With Kearsarge struggling to hold onto any possession time, Stevens raced all around the field with runs on the wings and right down the middle. Cameron Ferland has a fantastic game running into the play and fighting off would be Cougar attacks while Sara Faro dominated the middle of the field from her defensive position. Elise Smith and Lilly Clark helped keep the Cardinal pressure on as Bell and Girard were goal hunting and eventually it was Bell who hit the back of the net from point blank range.
Stevens senior captain Girard was around the ball all evening and after she was denied from two wicked shots that hit the Kearsarge’ Luna Landers right into her goalie pads with that hard thump sound, Ferland came up empty also with another solid hit. Girard was not to be denied as she scored goals number five and six for Stevens with tenacious hits that would close out the scoring on the night. “It was a team effort; we have been working on some different things in practice and I think we’re starting to come together. It feels good to get a win, but we have more to do,” said Girard.
With Thursday’s win, the Cardinals have won four of their last five including the last three in a row outscoring their opponents 15-1 along the way. “We are still settling in as a team, we’ve been fiddling with different formations and I think we’re starting to find the right combinations,” said Deschaine.
Stevens next game is at Littleton on Tuesday.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.