Getting a kick out of it: Duxbury goaltender Julia Hannon makes a save against he Rams

On Friday afternoon in Duxbury, Marshfield showed they aren’t the same old Rams, playing tight defense and pressuring the Duxbury end of the field for a 4-3 non-league win.{sidebar id=4}

Coach Pam Manley was disheartened by her team’s performance, but did see some bright spots in the loss.

“Our offense did an excellent job in moving the ball and they passed well. It wasn’t a game of ping-pong, where everything just went back-and-forth. There was a purpose to every pass. Marshfield’s defense was very good, and their goalie was great, but we still managed to get plenty of shots on net.”

After trailing 1-0 on a Lauren Gilmore goal, the Lady Dragons responded with a Mimi Smith goal less than three minutes later.

Candlepins for cash: Marshfield defenders hit the turf as Tracy Clough scors for Duxbury.

The lead was short-lived, as Kayla O’Reilly scored 36 seconds later to regain the lead for the Rams with 14:18 to go in the half.

Both teams were getting plenty of opportunities, with Duxbury’s best coming after a Julia Hannon save and rebound sent the offense up field where Tracy Clough banged one home to tie the game at 2-2.

Trying to hold back the Marshfield offense was a challenge for the young Duxbury defense. With 3:27 left in the half, the Rams struck again when Lauren Durico slid a shot under a fallen Hannon, who was on her knees after saving two prior shots that the defense couldn’t clear.

“I don’t think it was entirely the defense’s fault today,” said Manley. “We have a young defense and I think there might have been a lack of a level of confidence back there today. We need a strong voice back there to direct the traffic, and after Anie Grunwald went down we just didn’t have anyone step up and take that responsibility over.”

Duxbury managed to tie the score once again when Clough notched her second at the 20:22 mark, but Ali Mandile would get the winner for the visitors with 12:38 left in the game when she tipped home a shot at the corner of the net following a free corner.