DiMercurio's hat trick leads Gaels to first win

September 02, 2007|By JACK HILL III

SAINT JAMES - The St. Maria Goretti girls soccer team picked up its first win of the season in dominant fashion, blanking St. James 8-0 on Saturday.

"I am very proud of the team," Goretti coach Dan Durski said. "Everybody played to the best of their ability today. Our girls wanted to win very badly right from the very beginning. They kept that mindset throughout the whole game."

Erica DiMercurio scored three goals for the hat trick to lead the Gaels (1-1-1).

"I want to give it as much as I can this year, because this is my senior year," DiMercurio said. "My teammates really helped me out. I was just in position to get the goals. We played as a whole team today. This is true Goretti spirit. Everybody got a chance to play today."

Goretti went on top early as DiMercurio scored through the middle on an assist by Sandra Maina in the sixth minute.

In the 21st minute, Justine Beachley scored on the right side on an assist by Jacquelyn Gallo to extend the Gaels' lead to 2-0.

DiMercurio got her second goal on a header off of a corner kick by Gallo in the 28th minute as Goretti took a 3-0 halftime lead.

"It was my dream to get a header into the goal," DiMercurio said. "I have really been practicing my header."

Just moments into the second half, DiMercurio scored her third goal through the middle on an assist by Maina to boost the Gaels' lead to 4-0.

"It's always a great feeling to get the first goal in," Durski said. "Having players like Erica DiMercurio who can put that first goal away makes things easier on the coach. The offense played great and they moved the ball around. They supported each other very well today. The defense was stellar today, and it is apparent because they held St. James to just a few shots on goal today."

Colleen Costello scored Goretti's fifth goal on an assist by Melanie Connor. Beachley, Connor and Carissa Grove scored the final three goals for the Gaels. Beachley assisted on Connor's goal.

Goalkeeper Rachel Herrera had 20 saves for St. James (0-1), while Goretti keeper Andrea Buckner had seven saves.

"It was a rough start," St. James first-year coach Spencer Lake said. "They kept good pressure on us. The main thing was that we weren't able to get the ball off of our half of the field. They were just a little better team today. We have a very young team. Everybody had good intensity. I think that we are going to improve throughout the course of the season."

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