The News Journal
6/1/00
A.I. duPont in soccer final -- again
by Buddy Hurlock - Staff Reporter
It might have taken a while for the Alexis I. duPont High girls soccer team to wield its widespread abilities, but the Tigers won't turn down Wednesday's 4-1 victory over Tatnall School.
Kristin Goldrick scored twice in the second half as the top-seeded Tigers won their semifinal in the Delaware High School Girls Tournament, played at Newark High.
A.I. (18-1), winner of the last four titles, will go against St. Mark's (18-1) in Saturday's 7 p.m. final at Newark. It's a rematch of last year's championship game.
The Tigers' Kristin Hanna provided Wednesday's only first-half goal. Jessica Natalie's well-placed free kick from 25 yards out gave A.I. an early lead in the second half.
Tatnall responded with Christine Hommes' header about seven minutes later. that goal invigorated the the upset-minded Hornets (14-2-3), the fifth seed.
But perhaps it also woke up the Tigers. Goldrick scored in the 56th and 71st minutes, with Katie Mazzio assisting Goldrick's first goal.
"Our defense held up well," said Goldrick "and finally toward the end of the game, our game came together."
A.I. outshot Tatnall 13-7.
"We were nervous at the start, and we didn't know that much about them [Tatnall]," Goldrick said. "Mazzio, Tracey Withrow, and Hanna did a great job of opening up a lot of space, [but earlier] we just weren't playing the way we can."
Hanna recognized that some improvement might be in order if A.I. is to win a fifth straight title.
"We pulled it together in the second half, playing more possession," Hanna said. "I'm very happy we won. I hope we play better next time."
Tatnall lost in the semifinal for the third straight year.
Hornets coach Avis Vaught said the decison came down to tournament experience, greater substitution numbers for A.I., and perhaps a little better luck.
Tatnall had two shots go off the top crossbar, including one off a second-half direct kick when the Tigers led 3-1.
"Both teams were exceptional in advancing the ball," Vaught said. "As a young team to get this far in the tournament, we played super. It was a well-fought game and not many teams have scored on A.I."