Waterville balance beats Bulldogs

FAIRFIELD – With two injured fullbacks on an already small team, and after a tiring four games in eight days, the Lawrence girls soccer team was caught off-guard by Waterville as the Panthers rolled to a 8-1 victory Monday at David Martin Memorial Field.

Five players scored goals for the Panthers, with freshman Eileen Dunn and sisters Kate and Misty Trinward each scoring two goals for 4-0 Waterville.

With fullbacks Molly Meader and Lauren Marshall on the bench, Lawrence coach Susan Morris shifted center midfielder Jessie Lovitz to a defensive position.

The offense clearly suffered without Lovitz creating scoring chances. The 2-2-1 Bulldogs managed only nine shots on goal, while the Panthers peppered Lawrence goalie Amy Hanscom with 21 shots.

“[Lovitz] makes things happen,” Morris said. “When she’s not controlling the midfield, the midfield isn’t in control.”

Waterville jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first seven minutes of the game. Lawrence cut the lead to 2-1 on a goal by speedy forward Joy Lemore, who scored with 22:01 left in the first half when goalie Lauren Tebbetts came out of the goal area.

But two more Waterville goals gave the Panthers a 4-1 halftime lead and the Bulldogs never recovered.

“Jessie is a great player and I think we got lucky with a lot of our shots,” Kate Trinward said. “It didn’t feel like an 8-1 game to me.”

Waterville coach Kostas Gregory said he noticed some problems with his team’s first-half effort – despite the three-goal margin.

“We weren’t getting to 50-50 balls and I wasn’t pleased with our teamwork,” said Gregory, who is back coaching the Panthers after a two-year stint in the late 1980s. “There was a marked improvement in the second half, but those are things we have to do all the time. We have a tough schedule and we play some teams that can take advantage.”

All of Waterville’s goals except for senior Kate Trinward’s were scored by underclassmen such as Dunn and sophomore Christine Serdjenian, who recorded a second-half goal and contributed three assists.

But that’s typical for this team. Gregory started six sophomores, most of whom started as freshmen last year.

“It may seem odd, but they are experienced,” Kate Trinward said. “It’s definitely not a setback for us.”

Hanscom finished with seven saves. Tebbetts played 60 minutes, stopping two of the five shots she faced. Tebbetts came out and scored an unassisted goal. Her replacement, Lindsey McMorrow, made three saves on four shots.

JV: Waterville 4-1.