By Dylan Butler
They need to communicate better, pass the ball better and spread out the field more. But after a 3-0 win over Newtown Monday, the Francis Lewis girls’ soccer team improved to 3-0 in Queens A and Angela Wooley isn’t complaining.
“We could have had a lot more open passes to the outside,” said the sophomore midfielder, who scored two of the Patriots’ three goals against the Pioneers. “There’s definitely improvement to be made; we could have played a lot better, but today we were pretty good.”
Wooley is picking up where she left off after a spectacular freshman campaign when she scored 11 goals in 13 games.
But it was Caroline Verna who put Francis Lewis ahead, 1-0, when she slotted the ball past Newtown keeper Iveth Montana, who came off her line, for a breakaway goal.
“The ball went up [in the air] and I stopped it with my foot,” Verna said. “I trapped it and tapped it past the keeper.”
After Wooley gave the Patriots a two-goal lead, Francis Lewis keeper Nesime Bal robbed Newtown striker Alba Carresquero when she tapped her free kick from 25 yards out above her head and then turned and caught the ball before it crossed the goal line.
“Our goalkeeper is a major asset; without her we wouldn’t be half as good as we are,” Lewis coach Roger Sarmuksnis said of Bal, who made four saves to earn her second shutout. “She punts and saves the ball very well.”
“My kids, the majority of them are first-year players,” said Newtown coach Howie Ranzer, whose team dropped to 1-3 in Queens A. “But we’re getting better every game.”
Wooley capped the scoring in the 70th minute on a second breakaway, beating Montana from 10 yards out.
“We need to work on our east-to-west game, as opposed to our north-south game,” said Sarmuksnis, who also coaches the Molloy boys’ soccer junior varsity squad. “Once we get the east-west game down with better communication, we can be the best team we can be.”
Cardozo 13, Richmond Hill 1. Kristen Hausdorf had four goals and Larissa Demelo had four assists for Cardozo (3-0 Queens A).
Townsend Harris 7, John Adams 0. Jessica Hetherton and Andi Strauss each scored for Townsend Harris (5-0, 4-0 Queens A).
Bryant 12, Flushing 0. Lindsey Molina scored four goals and Suruchi Bhardwaj added another for Bryant (4-0 Queens A).
Far Rockaway 2, Long Island City 1. Tasha Israel scored both goals for Far Rockaway (4-0 Queens B-II), including the game-winner in the 71st minute.
Forest Hills 1, Arts and Business 1. Angela Arboleda scored off Kamila Barnes’ corner kick in the 60th minute for Forest Hills (3-1-1 Queens II-B), which gave up the tying goal five minutes later.
Jamaica 2, Campus Magnet 1. Jiji Sung and Rene Murray scored first-half goals for Jamaica (3-0, 2-0 Queens B-I).
Townsend Harris 8, Richmond Hill 0. Jaclyn Miccio scored three goals, Kathy Dubowski and Maria Paschalidis scored two goals apiece and Stacy Christofordis added one goal for the Hawks.
Bryant 4, John Adams 1. Molina scored three goals and Stacy Giannoukakis added one for the Owls.
Newtown 1, Bayside 0. Carresquero netted the game-winner and Montana made 12 saves for the Pioneers.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by email at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
