Montclair (1-2)

While April 13 greeted the Lightning players and parents with long awaited warm weather which miraculously dried up a waterlogged field, the result was an unlucky 2-1 loss to the tough Greater Flemington Freedom,Sunday at Park Middle School Scotch Plains.

Coach Luis Rodriguez was philosophical in defeat noting the tougher competition.
“This was our first contact with flight three team(The Freedom played in that group last fall). They were more alert and quick to the ball, more aggressive, more physical but in my opinion we kept them in track for a good 10-15 first minutes of the second half,” said Rodriguez

The Freedom used strong counterattacks to score one breakaway goal in each half the latter breaking a 1-1 tie. The Lightning had tied the game near the end of the first half on a spectacular header by Kristen Thompson who outjumped two players to direct Brittany Biondi’s cross past a surprised goalkeeper.

“That was a good display of effort and persistence, she deserved that goal, and fought hard for it”, said Rodriguez.

The Lightning,1-2 thusfar this Spring, are experiencing the growing pains of moving up from flight five to flight four a result of their second place finish. While the top two teams in each flight move up the bottom two move down and the middle two stay in place meaning the schedule is far tougher.

“We have to find ourselves in the rhythm of fourth flight, faster, stronger, basically: do the same but quicker.”, said Rodriguez.

“I am not disappointed with our game, but I know we could better. Perhaps with regular practices and knowing our own mistakes we'll get better.”

The Lightning offense clearly missed Heather Rodriguez,the coaches’ daughter who had scored their first goal a week ago. Rachel Parker and Jaclyn Lazarus were busier than usual in goal and made several fine plays to thwart further scoring. The defense of Alyssa Strainero, Javonni Costello and Maria Rivero were busier than usual. Costello made several dazzling runs far up the field from near her own goal.

Angelica Glover, Rachel Kreyer, Cheryl Monteiro, Jessica Nagourney and Joanna Naugle made numerous fine runs on offense and nearly scored on several occasions while also hustling back to midfield. Biondi. , who was injured late in the game, was a force in midfield along with Thompson and Cathy Harley.

Special mention must be given to Roger Harley, father of Cathy Harley, whose hustle along the sidelines prevented at least four out of bounds balls from going in the nearby creek.

The lightning will be off for Easter this Sunday and resume with an away match at the Montclair United Lightning.

Edison Express (3-2)

A cold gusty wind that reminded everyone of this year’s frigid winter and proved a harbinger to the largest April snowstorm in 20 years turned out to be far more agreeable to the Lightning and their fans than the weather the week before. The result was also more satisfying as the Scotch Plains U13 Girls soccer team bounced back from a season opening 5-0 loss to the Central Jersey Tidalwave to edge the Edison United Express 3-2 Sunday in Edison. It evened the Lightning’s spring record to 1-1 in their debut as a flight 4 team after finishing second in flight 5 a year ago.

Unlike the opener which was played in a cold driving rain that turned the field into a quagmire, the field was in excellent condition for the Edison game. “Last game we were extra concerned with weather conditions that we forgot we had a game to play, We also played against a very good and strong team. “ said coach Luis Rodriguez..

“We're glad to come back to the winning column. It was a great effort from everybody “,
added Rodriguez.

His daughter Heather put the Lightning on top when she skillfully took a crossing pass from Rachel Parker and deposited the ball into the corner of the net. Edison tied the game on a long high looping shot but Katie Cornacchia gave the Lightning the lead for good converting another cross from Parker.

The Lightning extended their 2-1 halftime lead as Cathy Harley executed a fine swerving corner kick that was flicked by Jaclyn Lazarus to Cornacchia who hit a hard low shot just inside the right post. Edison cut the margin in half with another long high shot but the Lightning defense, led by goalie Parker and defenders Javonni Costello and Alyssa Straniero shut the door the remainder of the game. The victory gave the Lightning a 5-0-0 mark against the two Edison teams. They beat both at the Piscataway tournament last September and stopped the Independence twice last fall. This was their first meeting since Piscatawaywith the United Express,which dropped from flight 3,

Rodriguez noted the Lightning’s increased intensity.
“We showed the desire of winning each ball, we showed patience transporting the ball from midfield to up front”, said Rodriguez. He was most effusive in his praise for Costello.

“She showed a superb demonstration of ball and field control. Javonni was our best player today”. As was the case last fall, Lazarus and Parker shared the goalkeeping duties. Maria-Pia Rivero also excelled on defense. Angelica Glover and Joanna Naugle made numerous fine runs on offense and nearly scored on several occasions. Kristen Thompson, Rodriguez, and Harley sparkled in midfield. Rachel Kreyer, Cheryl Monteiro and Jessica Nagourney alternated between offense and midfield and contributed with their hustle. The Lightning were able to win without Nina Brownstone and
Brittany Biondi.

The Lightning play their next game,Sunday April 13 at Park Middle School against the Greater Flemington Freedom.

Flemington (1-2)

While April 13 greeted the Lightning players and parents with long awaited warm weather which miraculously dried up a waterlogged field, the result was an unlucky 2-1 loss to the tough Greater Flemington Freedom,Sunday at Park Middle School Scotch Plains.

Coach Luis Rodriguez was philosophical in defeat noting the tougher competition.
“This was our first contact with flight three team(The Freedom played in that group last fall). They were more alert and quick to the ball, more aggressive, more physical but in my opinion we kept them in track for a good 10-15 first minutes of the second half,” said Rodriguez

The Freedom used strong counterattacks to score one breakaway goal in each half the latter breaking a 1-1 tie. The Lightning had tied the game near the end of the first half on a spectacular header by Kristen Thompson who outjumped two players to direct Brittany Biondi’s cross past a surprised goalkeeper.

“That was a good display of effort and persistence, she deserved that goal, and fought hard for it”, said Rodriguez.

The Lightning,1-2 thusfar this Spring, are experiencing the growing pains of moving up from flight five to flight four a result of their second place finish. While the top two teams in each flight move up the bottom two move down and the middle two stay in place meaning the schedule is far tougher.

“We have to find ourselves in the rhythm of fourth flight, faster, stronger, basically: do the same but quicker.”, said Rodriguez.

“I am not disappointed with our game, but I know we could better. Perhaps with regular practices and knowing our own mistakes we'll get better.”

The Lightning offense clearly missed Heather Rodriguez,the coaches’ daughter who had scored their first goal a week ago. Rachel Parker and Jaclyn Lazarus were busier than usual in goal and made several fine plays to thwart further scoring. The defense of Alyssa Strainero, Javonni Costello and Maria Rivero were busier than usual. Costello made several dazzling runs far up the field from near her own goal.

Angelica Glover, Rachel Kreyer, Cheryl Monteiro, Jessica Nagourney and Joanna Naugle made numerous fine runs on offense and nearly scored on several occasions while also hustling back to midfield. Biondi. , who was injured late in the game, was a force in midfield along with Thompson and Cathy Harley.

Special mention must be given to Roger Harley, father of Cathy Harley, whose hustle along the sidelines prevented at least four out of bounds balls from going in the nearby creek.

The lightning will be off for Easter this Sunday and resume with an away match at the Montclair United Lightning.