Pequea Valley tallied twice off corner kicks to defeat Solanco 2-0 in the girls soccer opener last Friday morning. The host Mules controlled the ball for much of the game but were unable to score. Solanco coach Rob Bramble said he thought his team outplayed Pequea Valley for long stretches of the game. "I'm happy with the way the girls played," he said. "They passed the ball around well. Defensively we were fairly solid." Pequea Valley's took a 1-0 lead with 2:09 left in the opening half. Megan Stoltzfus pounced on a loose ball in the box and fired it into the net. "We need to definitely be stronger defensively on corners," said Bramble. "If you look at the corners we had on offense they had every player back. It was a massive sea of red (the color of Pequea Valley's jersey). We need to take a look at how we're defending the corners." The Braves added an insurance goal with 15:04 to go in the game when a corner kick caromed off a Solanco defender and into the goal. That goal deflated the Mules. "Psychologically, the girls had played so hard and so well when they got their second goal, we put our heads down a little bit," said Bramble. Solanco had several outstanding opportunities to score but could not convert. Gia Cannizzaro blasted a left-footed shot which glanced off the left goalpost midway through the first half. Early in the second half, Pequea Valley nearly scored another goal on a corner kick but Solanco back Molly Briggs cleared the ball off the goal line. The Mules threatened in an attempt to get the equalizer. Rachel Trout's shot went over the cross bar and a shot by Rauna Curry-Saner squirted through the hands of the PV keeper but went wide of the net. Solanco's Taylor Fabian generated a couple of good chances. With 17:40 left, she stole a goal kick and crossed the ball. But Trout's shot from the middle of the area was stopped. Ninety seconds later, the Mules could not convert a Fabian cross after a flurry in front of the goal. A little more than a minute after that chance, PV made it 2-0. Solanco outshot the Braves 12-6 for the game. Mules' goalie Emily Hobbs made four saves. "We did create chances," Bramble said. "Gia had a good shot in the first half. We also had chances in the second half. We need our midfielders to get into the box and support the attack." Comments are closed.
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