October 4, 2013 - Southingtonlibrary.org

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The Step Saver/ The Observer
Friday, October 4, 2013
Cross
Country:
taking a
break
From page 36
was shifted to her co-ed
race, it caused Alize
Rodriguez to run two legs
of the four-girls division
race, but she teamed with
Nickolina Doran and
Margaret Meehan to capture
the division title
(42:26).
Niro said that the relay
is a good way to create a
competition for an off-day
workout, and that should
benefit everybody down
the road.
“To run one and a half
miles is easier than any
other race,” said the coach.
“Even if you run two laps,
it’s still shorter than a full
5,000 meters. We use a flat
course. It’s a beautiful
place to run at a beautiful
time of year. You really can’t
lose.”
Simsbury dominates
Southington’s only varsity
race was a mis-matched
tri-team meet in Newington
against powerhouse
Simsbury and the
Newington host team.
Simsbury placed nine of the
top 10 finishers in the boys
race. The Trojans scored the
top six finishers in the girls
race. Southington crushed
Newington in both competitions,
15-50 (girls) and 16-
47 (boys), but Simsbury
swept everybody.
“It was a meet of disparities,”
said Niro.
“Simsbury’s boys and girls
are both top 10 teams, and
we are just not quite there
yet. We’re still a little young
to compete with teams at
that level right now, and we
were able to beat
Newington solidly. That
enabled us to conserve our
legs a little bit for the end of
the season. They didn’t have
to run quite as hard, but
they still worked together to
have a great workout. Down
the road, when we’re looking
at the end of the season,
SKI SWAP
I think this will be an
important day for us.”
With his ninth place
finish, Colin Murphy (18:50)
was the only boy to place in
the top 10. Amanda Hamel
(22:33) edged Perkowski
(22:34) to claim seventh
place in the girls race.
Damiaen Florian
(19:17), Garrison (19:25),
Jack Myers (19:26), and Kyle
Summa (20:04) scored for
the boys. Catherine Myers
(22:57), Raquel Romano
(23:48) and Margaret
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JOHN GORALSKI
Catherine Myers races through the woods at
YMCA Camp Sloper at a recent meet.
Our Athletes
Meehan (23:54) scored for
the girls.
Both teams are holding
their own at 2-2 overall.
To comment on this
story or to contact sports
writer John Goralski, email
him at jgoralski@
southingtonobserver.com.
Warm Your Home,
Not The Planet.
On the road again
Lady Knights have to fight for every point
By JOHN GORALSKI
SPORTS WRITER
Margaret Mellitt and
Janelle Mangassarian dove,
elbowed, and fought for
every one of their nine
saves. Five Lady Knights
used their bodies to deflect
Simsbury shots.
On Tuesday, Sept. 24,
Simbury’s offense sent wave
after wave of players at the
Southington net, but the
Lady Knights spoiled each
and every attempt.
Girls Soccer
“It was as good of a
team performance as we've
had over the last two years.
When you talk about
defending, it wasn't just
with the back four. It was the
whole team,” said Lady
Knight soccer coach Sal
Penta. “From the top forward
to the last back, we
defended great. Every time
that they had a ball, we
closed down the space.
Every time they went to take
a shot, our defenders got in
the way.”
For 90 minutes, the
teams battled for a scoreless
tie. Southington didn’t
score, in either half or in
overtime, but Penta was
glad to get out of there with
a tie.
The Lady Knights are in
the middle of a six-game
road trip that would send
shivers down the spine of
the most experienced teams
in the state. That’s why the
tie was so important to
Penta. Any time that you
can secure a tie or a win on
the road, it is huge. For the
Knights, it broke a threegame
losing streak.
“Whenever you go into
Simsbury and get a point,
you tell the bus driver to
hurry up and start the bus
and let’s get out,” said Penta.
“That’s a huge point, not
only because it gets us one
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“
It was as good of a team
performance as we’ve had
over the last two years.
When you talk about defending,
it wasn't just with the back four.
It was the whole team.
“
Sal Penta,
SHS girls soccer coach
point closer, but because it
builds confidence.”
Penta points out that
his young team is still gaining
experience as they try to
navigate their tough conference
schedule. An extended
road trip doesn’t help, so
every point counts.
On Friday, the Knight
effort fell short in
Newington. The Indians
scored in the first 10 minutes
and held on for a 1-0
win. Once again, Mellitt and
Mangassarian rallied at the
net, collecting 16 saves to
keep the Knights close, but
Southington’s offensive
struggles continued.
“In the second half, we
did everything but put it in,”
said Penta. “It’s a little bit
too bad. I thought we were
past that-gettting out flat in
a game-but on the other
hand I was happy with the
way we finished.”
To make matters worse,
Southington lost one of
their most experienced
scorers, Sarah Palko, to a
head injury, and that’s
another tough blow to the
team’s inexperienced offensive
unit. Since starting the
season with four goals in
their first two games, the
Knights have failed to score
in their next six contests.
Sept. 24 (OT)
Southington 0
Simsbury 0
Sept. 27
Newington 1
Southington 0
“When you take away
players like Haley Kolesnik
and Sarah Palko from the
front, it puts a lot of pressure
on the other girls,” said
Penta. “But no one’s going to
feel sorry for us. We just
have to keep going.”
Penta said that he still
wasn’t worried, and his
team remains on track to
meet his preseason expectations.
To account for the
injuries, coaches are modifying
the offensive system,
and that should help to
aleve some pressure for the
Knights’ young scorers as
they continue to develop.
“This doesn’t change
anything at all,” said the
coach. “I said at the beginning
of the seaosn that this
is going to be a team that
continues to get better as we
go along, and we’re already
seeing it. Just compare this
week to a few weeks ago.
We’re getting better.”
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