Lady Patriots knock off Immanuel 2-1


Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007
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Lady Patriots knock off Immanuel 2-1

By BARRY BURLESON
Editor



Photos by Ronnie Day
Soccer competition (Top) Goalie Katie Paylor blocks Immanuel’s shot at the goal as teammate Ellen Gresham (right) helps on defense. (Above, left) Nealy Jones tries to get around an Immanuel player. (Above, right) Kimberly Cunningham uses her head.

The Marshall Academy soccer team ended its season last week with a home win over Immanuel and a road loss to Heritage.

The 2-1 victory over Immanuel avenged a loss from earlier in the season. Molly West and Regan Murphy scored the Lady Patriots’ goals.

MA, in just its third season of soccer, finished 3-10.

“There was a lot of frustration this season because we felt like we were close so many times,” said coach Catherine Mirante. “However, it is obvious to anyone who knows anything about soccer that this team has improved tremendously since last year. There is absolutely no comparison. In that respect, I’m very proud of our girls and am excited about seeing the progress that we make next year.”

The Lady Patriots lose five seniors – Jessica Taylor, Nealy Jones, Erica Owens, Anna Petree and Ellen Gresham.

Coach Mirante said she will encourage the returning players to be very active in the off-season.

“The best way to become a better soccer player is simply to play,” she said. “The game itself is so much about feel and that is something that only comes with lots of touches on the ball.”

Mirante hopes to schedule some pick-up games through the winter, plus there is interest in playing in an indoor women’s league in Memphis next summer.

“Regardless, we plan on continuing this improvement throughout the off-season,” she said.

Mirante also hopes to go to more instructional coaches seminars. Last winter she attended the World Class Coaching Seminar in Kansas City, Mo. On October 13 she plans to attend a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) goal-keeping clinic in Jackson. She also hopes to attend the NSCAA National Coaches Convention in Baltimore, Md., in January 2008.

“As I explain to my players, I am just as new to coaching as they are to playing,” she said. “So, we are learning together. Hopefully we will all come through this off-season better than we went in.”

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