C-C Girls Soccer Off to Fast Start

girls’ soccer team has built a pretty impressive record through the first half of the 2011 season.

In addition to sitting atop the Dual County League Small Division, the Patriots have already knocked off two team teams that are considered among the top-10 best in the state. Both victories came in a two-game stretch last week that demonstrated to the rest of the state that C-C is for real.

First, the Patriots took down the Middlesex League’s Lexington High School in a 5-2 thrashing on Sept. 17. Three days later, they stepped up again to beat DCL Large Division leader Acton-Boxborough 2-0. It was C-C’s first win over the Colonials in five years.

“I was expecting this to be a successful season, but one never knows,” coach Nancy Slocum said, “and I’ve been around long enough to know that it’s a long season. Anything can happen.

“We’re certainly on our toes, but I think that we are so far meeting the challenges. And we’ve had some [big wins].”

Through eight games, the Patriots are 6-2 and lead neighboring Bedford High School in the DCL Small.

So far, C-C has gotten the job done with a combination of stellar team defense in front of keeper Abby Ojemann, who is allowing less than a goal per game, and the scoring touch of striker Andrea O’Brien. O’Brien scored all three goals for the Patriots in their 3-1 victory over Westford Academy on Wednesday.

“I think that we’re playing very good team soccer.” Slocum said. “We play a very unified style of defense and I think the girls have learned rather quickly how to hold it together. Their conditioning is great and I just think we’re a hard team to get through.”

But it’s not like any of this is at all unexpected. The Patriots returned several pieces of last year’s tournament squad, including O’Brien, and had high expectations entering the fall.

More so than anything, the coach said, continuing to play stellar defense, while also getting more names on the scoresheet will be key to continued success. While O’Brien has proven to be a prolific scorer the past two seasons, Slocum admitted that it doesn’t pay to be completely one-dimensional in the offensive end.

“I’d like to see us continue to develop more goal-scorers,” she said. “I think we need to get more people involved in our goal-scoring, I think we need to develop the poise and the confidence that scoring requires.”

Still, spreading the scoring around may not be completely necessary as long as the Patriots’ defense keeps playing at such a high level. Three of the team’s six wins have been shutouts, and C-C has only surrendered nine goals all year. Nearly half of those (4) came in its loss to undefeated and DCL Large leader Lincoln-Sudbury on Sept. 10.

So far this year it hasn’t been difficult for C-C to get a jump on opponents, especially when Ojemann is working with a 0.67 goal-against average, according to Slocum.

Now, Slocum said, it’s up to the coaching staff to keep the team level-headed and doing what has made it successful through the first half of the year. Given the makeup that’s not something the coach is too worried about.

“I think sometimes when you are successful you forget what made you so successful in the first place — that’s hard work, focus, and determination,” she said of the remaining 10 games of the regular season. “We need to work hard every day, keep focused and play tough defense. If we continue to do those things I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t continue to be successful.”

C-C travels to Framingham High School to close out the first half of the season on Saturday afternoon. The team will then remain on the road to take on Wayland High School on Tuesday.