MIDDLETOWN >> Lyman Hall senior Hannah Reilly sure picked a good time to score her first career goal.
Reilly knocked in a crossing pass from senior Jen Padilla with just four minutes and 31 seconds left in regulation as the Trojans edged Mercy, 1-0, Thursday afternoon at Tigers Field.
“It was a tough goal to let in,” said Mercy coach Marji Sklar-Levine. “We had one little lapse but other than that I thought it went pretty well. It was a tough loss.”
Indeed.
The Tigers (0-4), who were seeking their first win of the season, got a spirited defensive effort led by Jessica Corcoran, Caitlin McAuliffe and sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Murphy.
“We were aggressive,” said Sklar-Levine. “I thought we played pretty well.”
Each team had eight penalty corners.
Mercy senior Abigail Benchimol almost gave the Tigers the lead late in the second half but her shot from just inside the circle rolled wide left. The Tigers had a few more scoring opportunities in the first half but couldn’t muster any quality shots on goal.
“We couldn’t capitalize,” Sklar-Levine added. “We just need to work on getting the ball into the goal a little bit more this year.”
It was the fourth consecutive shutout for Lyman Hall goalkeeper Alexa Rubano as the Trojans improved to 3-0-1.
“We’re having a pretty great season so far so I can’t complain,” said Lyman Hall coach Stephanie Lavado. “My goalie is all-state and all-conference. Sometimes our defense is too strong and (teams) aren’t getting to her. But that’s a good thing. We just want to keep it up.”
Shelby Flower, Mikaeli Perreli and Ashley Lane spearheaded the Trojans’ defense, while the offense needed only one goal.
“I just kind of tapped it in,” said Reilly, who was left alone at the goal post.
“We’ve really been working on our one time hits, hitting it as its coming past us and Jen Padilla did a nice job pushing that ball through and Hannah Reilly got her first goal ever,” said Lavado.
Mercy plays Sacred Heart Academy in Hamden today at 3:45 p.m.
“We have a pretty young team and we’re just really trying to build the program right now,” said Sklar-Levine. “I’d like to see us get to .500 this year. That’s what we’re shooting for.”
