Brooke Moloney didn’t waste any time once she got on the field to start the season for the St. Mary’s girls soccer team, scoring early and often to lead the Spartans to a 4-0 victory over Matignon at Austin Prep Saturday afternoon.
Moloney scored three goals in the victory, while Saribelle Diaz scored one goal. Senior captains Susannah Cornell, Julia Nickolau and Eliza Brown also played well in the victory.
“Everyone was excited to get back out on the field and play again, so it was a great day just because of that,” said Spartans coach Jim Foley. “We know that a lot of work went into getting us back out on the field, from the MIAA to the athletic director to the administration to the coaches, players and parents. We’re incredibly grateful and fortunate that we get to play.
“We played a really solid game out there,” Foley added. “We started fast and we were able to keep the pressure on all game long. We got a lot of scoring opportunities and we were able to cash in on a bunch of them.”
Moloney got things started early for St. Mary’s, scoring just two minutes into the opening quarter to put the Spartans ahead. She scored again at the eight-minute mark of the first, then Diaz scored to make it 3-0 before the first quarter even ended. The score remained there until the fourth quarter, when Moloney capped off her hat trick with a goal to seal the win.
“It was a great way for her to start the season, and we also really needed that spark to get us going,” Foley said of Moloney.
Foley also acknowledged the referees after the game, saying that their interpreting, administering and explaining of the new rules has been a great help in this strange new season.
“All of the referees have been great,” said Foley. “It’s obviously hard on them as well having to make these calls, so for them to go out of their way to explain things has been a great help. We also had two scrimmages with referees in the preseason, and those also really helped us prepare.”
St. Mary’s will go on the road to take on Malden Catholic Monday afternoon (4).
“It’s all about building momentum,” said Foley. “We had a great first game, but now we have to keep it going. The competition isn’t going to get any easier in the CCL, so we know we need to come with our A-game every day.”