By Mike Rubin

After a pair of thrilling ties, the Somerville High School girls soccer team continues to fare solid. Led by several goal scorers, the Highlanders powered through to a 4-1 win over Everett in Friday afternoon’s Greater Boston League match-up. Coupled with ties against Watertown and Cambridge earlier in the week, the Highlanders now stand at 3-1-2 overall.

In the win over Everett, the Highlanders grabbed a 1-0 lead as senior Karoline Meireles Nunes cashed in on a delayed breakaway in minute 17.

In the closing minutes of the first half, the Highlanders regained the lead on a goal by sophomore striker Natalie Henrique off a cross pass from Jessica Menjivar.

Early in the second half, Henrique continued to provide the spark for the Highlanders, dishing of pass from Mejivar, who then poked into the far corner of the net for the 2-1 edge. Securing the win, Henrique notched her second goal of the contest. Off a free kick by senior captain Cassie Marsden, Henrique notched a high lob from about 30 yards out into the back of the net for the 4-1 cushion.

“It was good to see the team using a lot of what we’ve been working on in training,” said coach Jason Lenicheck. We keep the ball moving on offense and look to exploit speed advantages, make simple back-passes rather than turn into pressure, step up and drive headers up the field to put pressure on the opposition, establish and hold marks on restarts. It was good to see quite a few people in the stands for the game. It’s always nice to have support, and there’s a bit of the right kind of pressure on your performance when your friends and family are watching you.”

In a hard fought battle against Cambridge on Wednesday, the Highlanders battled to a 2-2 tie at Danehy Field,

Midway through the first half, the Highlanders grabbed a 1-0 lead as Henrique followed through on a pass from sophomore Katelyn Kemp-Quinn.

Thirty seconds into the second half, the Highlanders unleashed a 2-0 lead on a goal by senior midfielder Marrara Goncalves. Off a pass from the left wing by Henrique, Goncalves fired a shot that landed into the back of the net.

Despite a 2-0 lead, the Highlanders couldn’t preserve the win as the Falcons emerged with a furious two goal rally in the second half to earn the point.

“It was a good game to learn from and a good experience for the team to have,” said Lenicheck. “Games that are this close make it such that every player should be able to easily think of at least one thing that they might have done that could have changed the scoreline – maybe a better pass, a better shot, a quicker step to the ball, a better angle on defense, an extra (or earlier) word of communication to coordinate with teammates. So everybody can go home knowing that they need to be just that little bit better, and that if they had been that little bit better then we’d have gotten a win. That’s the kind of thing that can lead to a bit more focus and effort in training.”

In a non-league match, the Highlanders battled to a 0-0 tie with Watertown last Monday.

Highlights included solid efforts from Goncalves and Tayla Plett along with Garrity between the posts.
“This was the type of 0-0 game that even a non-soccer person would come away from having found it exciting,’’ said Lenicheck. “There were literally dozens of chances at one end of the field or the other, several of them sure-fire goals that were blocked, pulled off the line, saved, or missed narrowly. There were great passes that sent people in on breakaways. There were strong challenges at both ends of the field. Both teams demonstrated ability and an interest in playing hard-nosed, physical soccer.”