GRANBY — The last time the Granby girls soccer team faced off against Palmer, it didn’t go the way the Rams had planned – the Panthers ran away with a 7-3 win.
The two teams faced off in a rematch on Wednesday afternoon, and Granby’s Kalli White wanted to make an impact on the game right away.
“We definitely wanted to have more of our energy up, because last time we really came in flat-footed,” White said. “One of our things is we really need to get that first goal to get moving and into the game. We really worked on that to get the first one and after that we were all high energy and so excited.”
Less than five minutes into the first half, White picked up a pass from McKenna Zumbruski and fired the ball into the back of the net to give Granby the jump start it needed. White ended up scoring four of Granby’s five goals as the Rams got the redemption they were looking for in an impressive 5-1 victory.
While the high energy that the Rams brought to the game early helped them get that elusive first goal, Granby coach Bill Weaver has also seen significant improvement from everyone on the roster since the last time the squad lined up against Palmer. In particular, their ability to capitalize on the chances they got against the Panthers was the difference maker for the home team on Wednesday.
“(We’ve improved) from back to front, really. The whole group, they work hard in practice. We still have a lot of stuff to work on, and today we attacked their goal and we finished,” Weaver said. “We’ve been having trouble finishing but today everything just worked out right.”
White stuck again in the 16th minute, picking up an assist from Kelly Lynne Kennedy and running down the right side before firing it home to make it 2-0 Granby.
The Rams’ biggest obstacle standing in their way was Palmer star Charlotte Theriault, who has been tearing up the Central League scoring. Theriault scored the Panthers’ lone goal of the game and it was a beauty – she danced through three Granby defenders before finding the back of the net to make it 2-1 going into halftime.
Granby’s defense locked Theriault down for most of the game, limiting her to four shots on goal. Granby keeper Meredith Bartosz was solid in net with 14 saves, and defender Rhea Gagnon was lights out keeping Theriault off the scoresheet for the most part, with Eleanor Szlosek and Molly Zumbruski helping out when needed. Palmer’s offense controlled the ball during the latter stages of the first half, and the visitors had a number of good chances that went over the crossbar or just wide, but Bartosz made saves when she needed to and the back line took care of the rest.
Palmer tried to slow White, but the visitors just couldn’t contain her. Her final two goals came in the last three minutes of the contest, separated by less than a minute.
“She works hard as anybody on the soccer field. She doesn’t give up on opportunities,” Weaver said on White’s play. “Today she was poised, under control when she went one on one with the goalie. And we’ve been asking for a year and a half now for that. She learns, she listens, she takes advice well, and there’s not a girl that’s going to work harder than her.”
Molly Zumbruski got on the scoresheet for Granby as well; she converted on a penalty kick opportunity to give Granby a 3-1 lead seven minutes into the second frame.
The win puts the Rams at 3-7 overall, but Granby won’t have much time to bask in its victory. Wednesday’s game was the team’s third match in five days, and they’ll play a fourth contest when they travel to Quaboag on Friday.
Hannah Bevis can be reached at hbevis@gazettenet.com. Follow her on Twitter @Hannah_Bevis1.