Quinonez's highlight goal sparks Clarke
Clarke's #1 Hope Quinonez (r) gains control of the ball to score a goal as Island Trees' #34 Bridget Vilbig defends during the game at Island Trees High School. (Sept. 13, 2011) Credit: Newsday/Frank Koester
There is always hope for the Clarke girls soccer team, thanks to Hope Quinonez.
Even when she is surrounded by multiple defenders and left with no options, her foot skills bail her out of seemingly hopeless situations.
That footwork was on display Tuesday at Island Trees High School. The nationally ranked freshman forward split two defenders at the top of the box, created enough separation to get a shot off and fired into the back of the net to break a scoreless tie with 16:05 remaining in the first half.
With shots hard to come by in a defensive battle between two of the top teams in Conference V, Quinonez's goal set the tone as Clarke defeated Island Trees, 2-1.
"I just got lucky and worked my way through and tried to get it in,'' Quinonez said modestly of a goal that required more skill than luck. "It was difficult, but I worked my way.''
Samantha Goodwin capitalized on a defensive miscue midway through the second half to put Clarke ahead 2-0. After the ball got behind the keeper on a failed clearing attempt, Goodwin and teammate Dina Simonian converged with defenders in the box. Goodwin was first to the ball and scored an uncontested goal with 16:11 left.
"They came together,'' Clarke coach Becky Wachsberger said. "It wasn't the best win, but it's a win. First [conference] game of the season, I'll take that.''
Kristen Breihof pulled Island Trees (2-1) to within one after scoring on a free kick from just outside the box with 12:21 remaining. But that would be the only goal allowed by a stingy Clarke defense led by central defender Nicole Wahlig.
"We dropped off our back line a little bit to adjust to the speed and we switched to a stopper/sweeper, so we had a little extra footing,'' Wahlig said. "We were the top two teams in the conference, apparently, going into the game, so this is a big win. It could have went either way, but I'm glad it went our way.''
Clarke keeper Christina Pappas had eight saves, including a sliding stop on a shot by Allison Merrill with just under nine minutes left to preserve the win over a fellow conference contender.
"It's exciting,'' Quinonez said of the victory, "because we're hoping to win the conference.''
There's reason to hope.
