Girls soccer: A defensive stand

By Izzy Gould
Published December 14, 2007

The pressure was furious, but the defense stood firm.

Springstead defied coach Polo Furlong's thoughts. He had told assistant Michael Duke the Eagles would lose this one.

His faith in the defense is even stronger after another shutout. The Eagles have momentum with 10 shutouts in 15 games. They have not allowed a goal in their past four, including Wednesday's scoreless tie against offensive power Hudson. That marked the second time Springstead played to a scoreless tie with the Cobras, leaving the fight for the Class 4A, District 8 top seed up for grabs.

To this point, Springstead is 10-1-4 entering tonight's game against 0-15 Sunlake.

What's the secret to such strong play?

"I guess they all get along together," Furlong said. "That's very important. Each one understands where the other one is going. They talk to each other, and goalie Jennifer DeFrancesco tells them what to do. You need another coach, and the coach is the keeper."

Springstead has allowed just 11 goals this season, with eight of those scored by Zephyrhills in a 4-1 win over the Eagles on Nov. 7 and a 6-4 Springstead victory Dec. 4.

Furlong relies on a defensive line made up of Paige Alexsuk, Kaitlyn Duke, Ashley Southall and Jackie Holtje. That group replaced the one form last year.

"We had our flaws at the beginning," DeFrancesco said. "We also lost a lot of players last year, but we've become a strong team."

The defense has become particularly important lately with the offense struggling, suffering a pair of shutouts in its past two games.

Springstead packed the defense back in Wednesday's first half, which allowed Hudson more opportunities. The second-half strategy was to counter and apply more pressure on the offensive end.

When offenses such as Hudson's produce a lot of traffic near Springstead's 18-yard line, it helps to have players keep the ball off net. A lot of shots never come close, DeFrancesco said, but when they do, the line defending her has faith in its keeper.

"She usually steps it up," Holtje said. "Since my freshman year, we've always focused on shutouts. It doesn't matter how many goals we score - it's how we defend."

Izzy Gould can be reached at izzygould@gmail.com or (727) 580-5315.

[Last modified December 13, 2007, 21:39:37]