Both Minerva soccer programs opened their seasons against Dover, with the
girls falling 3–1 in their home opener Aug. 12 and the boys dropping an 11–1
decision on the road.
In the girls match, senior captain Grace Angione
scored the Lions’ lone goal, unassisted. Dover’s scoring came from Miley Patton
(assist by Cashlyn Harmon), Harmon (assist by Patton) and Abigail Lane (assist
by Patton).
Dover struck first early in the opening half,
but Minerva answered with Angione’s equalizer. Dover regained the lead before
halftime and added a third goal in the second half to secure the win.
“We struggled competing with Dover’s size and
speed. They had some quick girls up front,” Coach Jake Nightingale said. “Our
defense was able to keep them contained, but their ability to counter with
speed was tough on our girls.”
On the boys’ side, Noah Morckel put Minerva on
the board just 2:56 into the match with an unassisted goal, but Dover
controlled the rest of the game. The Tornadoes led 7–1 at halftime and finished
with an 18–6 advantage in shots and a 6–3 edge in corner kicks. Jace Wright
made four saves in goal for Minerva.
“We came out hot with Noah Morckel putting
some pressure on Dover’s defense and slotting a perfectly placed shot in the
net 2:56 into the game,” Coach Tyler Stewart said. “The score may not show, but
the boys played with a lot of heart tonight. We are a very young team with nine
freshmen, and five of those freshmen starting, going up against a senior- and
junior-heavy Dover team.”
Stewart praised the effort of Jeremiah Boone,
who played strong on the back line until leaving in the second half with a
hamstring injury.
“We are still figuring out our perfect mold of
a starting 11, but we have time to figure it out with not playing our next
game until Aug. 26 against Harrison Central at home,” Stewart said.
The boys’ record stands at 0-1, while Dover
improved to 1-0.
