Marlborough Lady Panthers Cling to Victory Over Groton-Dunstable

The received goals from Anna McCabe, Sarah Purcell, and Jennifer Bombard as Marlborough defeated the Groton-Dunstable Crusaders 3-2 in a Mid-Wach B contest at Kelleher Field. The Crusaders, who fell behind 3-0, saw their goals come from Dani Kenney and Merideth Shea. McCabe led the offense for Marlborough with two assists to go along with her goal.

The Crusaders came out and carried play to begin the first half, registering the first handful of shots and maintaining possession in the Panthers defensive half of the field. Halfway through the opening half the momentum began to swing when, as Marlborough upped the pressure, the Panthers hit the crossbar on two consecutive shots. Just three minutes later McCabe put the Panthers up 1-0 with a right-footed strike just over the Groton-Dunstable keeper.

Four minutes into the second half Marlborough extended their lead. McCabe delivered a perfect through ball to Purcell, who was able to touch the ball past the keeper for a 2-0 lead.

McCabe factored into the offense again with 25 minutes to play. Bombard received another great ball from McCabe and fired a shot 25 yards out that found the top-right corner of the net, giving the Panthers a 3-0 lead. “We needed this game to make playoffs so that was really our goal. We all pulled together”, said McCabe.

It didn’t take long for the Crusaders to respond, as just four minutes later Kenney found the back of the Panthers net after numerous missed opportunities for the Crusaders. Groton-Dunstable struck again minutes later when a misplayed cross by Marlborough keeper Amanda Monfalcone fell to the feet of Shea, who finished her chance and brought the Crusaders to within a goal.

“The first half we had some chances we should have finished. They got three good goals, we regrouped and we got two back, but we just ran out of time,” said Groton-Dunstable Head Coach Sue Hilbrunner.

“We squeaked it out, they worked hard,” said Marlborough Head Coach Samantha Cramer, when asked about her team’s habit to let up after scoring a goal. “A win is a win and this helps us get a little bit closer to making the playoffs.”

The Lady Panthers will look to continue their push towards the playoffs on Thursday, Oct. 20 when the Doherty Memorial Highlanders visit Kelleher Field.

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