On September 25, 2009, the Paint Branch Panthers varsity girls’ soccer team played on home turf against the Sherwood Warriors, expecting to not repeat the loss from the year before.  However, their hope of redemption fell short with a final score of 3-1, Sherwood.

            The two teams were pumped up and took the field.  Unfortunately, it looked like Sherwood was a little more hyped than Paint Branch.  Within the first three minutes from the start of the game, Sherwood senior Ariel Nicholas scored the first goal, making the score 1-0.  Paint Branch began to give more hustle to prevent Sherwood from scoring again.  Senior Captain Erin Larrabee showed great hustle as she blocked Sherwood from scoring.  Although Sherwood played strong offense, it was no match for Larrabee’s defense as she was all over the field, including one slide tackle to save a goal from being scored.

            While Larrabee was playing great defense, she, of course, could not save everything.  About 30 minutes into the first half, Warrior senior Emily Osborne made the score 2-0.  Paint Branch junior Anna Madden began to step up her offense to keep the panthers close, and by the end of the first half, the score remained 2-0.

            Madden followed through with her offense entering the second half, but she was taken out of the game to rest after she was knocked over and hit her head.  Sherwood had a few more solid goal attempts but failed.  Paint Branch also had a few attempts but could not come up with a score.  One close play by junior Samantha Shaibani, who leaped through the air to head a ball for an attempt on goal, was close but unsuccessful.  Larrabee was then injured and taken off the field, which left Paint Branch searching for answers.

            Larrabee and Madden returned to the field after resting from their injuries.  Madden began to step up her game even more.  Around 34 minutes into the second half, Sherwood’s Ariel Nicholas scored another goal, setting the score at 3-0.  With about two minutes left in the second half, Madden drove up-field past everyone to score.  Unfortunately, that was the only time she or Paint Branch scored, making the final score of the game 3-1.  Paint Branch Coach Danielle Prietz said that the team needed to work on their communication.  Senior Captain Larrabee stated, “We could have done better and need to work on passing the ball and staying on goal side.”  Paint Branch will take a close look at this loss to make improvements for their next game against the Wootton Patriots on September 30.