The constant cold drizzle and gray sky may have set a glum tone, but the weather did not dampen the girls’ spirits. The girls’ varsity soccer team set foot on the field ready to play and within the first six minutes, junior, Aly Mason, assisted by sophomore, Dakota Carroll, made the first goal in the game. Five minutes later, Carroll scored again with an assist from sophomore Laura DiClemente. Carroll then sealed a hat trick off a header from a corner kick.

The Westtown girls finally put a tally on the scoreboard at 20 minutes into the first half. Shortly after, DiClemente took advantage of the wet conditions and sent a long ball toward the Westtown goalie. The ball proved to be too slippery for the goal keeper and came to rest in the back of the net. With the score now 4–1, Shipley’s junior midfielder, Brooke Stokes, scored one more goal before the end of the first half.

One minute into the second half, the Shipley girls let Westtown know they weren't going to let up. Carroll sent a ball to sophomore, Jess Rosenbluth, who rifled it past the Westtown keeper. It was at this point that Westtown picked up its game too, and for almost the rest of the half the two teams were at a stalemate. Shipley junior Rae Goldstein played very well in net, including one very memorable save, after making the positional switch from striker. A free ball flew over the heads of the Shipley defense and a Westtown player broke through the line. It was a stand-off between Rae and the on-coming player. So, Goldstein made a split-second decision and charged to the top of the 18 (box). Sliding along the ground, Goldstein grabbed the ball from the opponent’s feet with a spectacular save.

With minutes left in the game, Stokes snuck the ball past the Westtown keeper after a beautiful pass from Rosenbluth to add the seventh and final goal for the Gators, improving their FSL record to 4-1-1 and 8-3-1 overall.
By Matt McCloskey ’06

Girls’ Soccer Picks League Win vs. Moorestown Friends School!
Tuesday, October 11th, 2005
Shipley-6  Moorestown Friends-0

The girls’ varsity soccer team dealt another crushing defeat to their opponents this past Tuesday against Moorestown Friends, winning 6-0. They are now at an overall record of 7-3-1 and a Friends Schools League record of 3-1-1.

From the commencement of the match, the Shipley girls dominated the field, with both offense and defense working superbly to deflect any hopes their challengers had of reaching the goal. Although the team took a total of nineteen shots at the opponent’s goal in the first half, the halftime score was only 1-0, with a goal by sophomore, Dakota Carroll, assisted by fellow sophomore, Laura DiClemente. In the latter half, junior, Brooke Stokes, and sophomore, Jessica Rosenbluth, each scored two goals, with Jessica also getting two assists. In addition, DiClemente and Carroll each picked up one assist.

Junior, Rae Goldstein, usually in striker position, began playing goalie as of last Friday’s game against Germantown Friends and obtained a shutout with three saves. When given some playing time on the field, Goldstein scored another goal. When asked about her sentiments on playing goalie, she replied it was “good, fun, nice”.

Only four games away from the FSL semifinals, the team has proven themselves to be fierce contenders; their morale is high despite early season losses and they are confident in their abilities to win the FSL championship on Tuesday, November 11th.
By Joy Tao ’07