Erick Cheng

Freshman forward Gianna Armanini dribbles the ball up towards the opponent’s goal, scoring a point for the Scots in the second half. This goal was 1 of 4 goals scored by the Scots in the second half.

Carlmont’s JV girls soccer team defeated the Notre Dame Tigers on Dec. 14, finishing with a dramatic lead of 5-0.

In the first half, the Scots started strong, playing aggressive offense against the Tigers and causing their defense to scramble more. With the help of solid offense and fluid passing, freshman center midfielder Nicole Franklin scored the first goal for the Scots. The Scots ended in a 1-0 lead by halftime. 

In the second half, the Scots played much more assertively, beginning with a well-coordinated attack. An assist from sophomore outside wing Kiana Chen gave way to center midfielder Delaney Kumer, who scored another goal for the Scots. 

“We had good plays and connections with each other,” said freshman defender Sophia Lee. “In the end, we planned just to possess and see how many passes we got.” 

As the half progressed, the coordination and strong offense from the Scots began to increase significantly as Kumer, freshman center back Bianca Lopez, and freshman forward Gianna Armanini scored three more goals. Combined with the Tigers pushed back on defense for most of the half, the game ended in a 5-0 win for the Scots.

“We settled down quickly, played well through each other, and connected as a team,” said freshman goalkeeper Samantha Tow. “I think we still have to work on connecting even more, but we still did a really good job.”

Although this game with the Tigers indicated that the Scots have adjusted to the competitive pressures of playing in the games and have learned to play to their strengths, they still see room for improvement.

“I think we need to build our chemistry,” said head coach Natalia Manzanares. “I also want to see more passing. Passing is sometimes more important than scoring goals because we need to be able to build up to the goals.”

Behind the scenes, the Scots have constantly practiced and drilled the offensive dexterity needed for them to get such a big lead against the Tigers.

“We have been focusing on attacking runs, finishing the scoring from the wings, and crashing the net a lot because we noticed that was one of our places to improve during the first few games,” Manzanares said. 

Looking to the season’s future, the Scots will work more on addressing any weak areas of their game and working towards playing against rival schools for the rest of the season. 

“I am looking forward to playing Saint Francis,” Manzanares said. “Our first game against them was such a close game, and we tied 0-0, so I want to beat them at their field.”