SP-F Girls Soccer Team Beats Plainfield, 5-0

The heavy wind was forcing itself into the field of play Wednesday afternoon as the Scotch Plains-Fanwood girl’s soccer team took on Plainfield.

The wind did have some things to do with a scoreless first half. But eventually, the Raiders, gearing up for another Union County Tournament run, scored, and scored again for a 5-0 win over the winless Cardinals.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood raised its record to 7-1-1, while Plainfield dropped to 0-9-1. The Raiders had beaten Plainfield 8-0 earlier, so a scoreless first half was surprising. But there was a method to what the Raiders were doing.

“We were working on some stuff; the wind was a factor and the kids put it away when it mattered," said Raiders’ head coach Kevin Ewing.

Sara Canfield got the Raiders going with a corner at 38:12 followed by long range goals by Avika Shah and Ally Prestridge. Lisa Matrale then scored two goals. The Raiders had a overwhelming advantage in shots.

The objective was to play the ball toward Plainfield goalie Amber Crews from the 18-yard line or beyond. The Raiders also worked on crossing.

“We’re concentrating on improving. We have some goals for our team where we want to be at what stage," Ewing said. “We were working on playing the ball at the feet and being aggressive in the offensive zone."

Shah said that since the Raiders have won four consecutive county titles, the challenge is clear.

“We had restrictions on us today to challenge us, we’re looking to challenge ourselves and meet those expectations," Shah said.

The Raiders play at Elizabeth on Friday and then play host to Roselle Catholic Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the county tournament. The Raiders are the No. 2 seed behind Westfield.

"We feel really confident, going into counties," Shah said. “We’re looking to get to the finals. Everybody is expecting us to win, but we just want to play well for ourselves."