St. Paul girls soccer took the momentum they had from a spirited 4-4 tie against Holy Cross last Thursday and turned it into their first win of the season on Tuesday.
Freshman Julia Dess tallied three goals in a 3-0 Falcon victory over visiting Torrington on a cool evening at St. Paul Catholic High School. With the win, St. Paul improved to 1-1-1 on the young season.
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| St. Paul freshman Julia Dess with one of her three goals against Torrington on Tuesday. |
Falcons head coach Jim Husbands has been telling Dess to shoot more, and she did on Tuesday to her team’s benefit.
Dess is one of two freshmen — the other being Addison Davis — who start for Husbands. Four other freshmen, Emma Cretella, Carolyn DelDebbio, Isabella Griffin and Catherine Ciampi, come off the bench.
“They all played significant minutes today, and they’ve been playing significant minutes,” Husbands said.
Those freshmen are learning the St. Paul way on the fly against a difficult schedule. The Falcons began the season on the road against Oxford and lost 2-0. St. Paul followed that up with falling behind Holy Cross 3-1 last Thursday. The Falcons appeared to be headed to a second straight loss but instead rallied and forged a 4-4 tie.
“To all of us, it was a victory,” Husbands said.
St. Paul played its home opener Tuesday evening against Torrington, and Dess delighted an enthusiastic crowd with a goal just 4:10 in. Just under 12 minutes later, Dess was at it again with her second goal. Dess added her third and final goal with 36:36 remaining in the match.
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| St. Paul’s Addison Davis (3) and Catherine Ciampi (24) turn up the defensive pressure. |
Husbands thought his team’s defense was good against Torrington. The defense included the likes of Sydney Palma, Naomi Wells, Ciampi, Alexa Morneault and Michelle Misiti.
“They played well,” Husbands said.
Sophomore Alessandra Milardo recorded her first varsity shutout.
“She’s solid back there, she gives us good leadership out there,” Milardo said.
St. Paul got its first win Tuesday, but it’s not done with the gauntlet yet. Friday evening brings a trip to perennial power Naugatuck. Husbands said his team could have been playing well and end up 0-4 through the first four games because of the competition. The Falcons are 1-1-1 and coming off of a good win entering the Naugatuck match.
“We’re just getting a little better, a little better,” Husbands said.
