On Tuesday, September 27 at 4 P.M., WA Girls’ Soccer dominated their regular season match-up against Cambridge Rindge & Latin by a score of 7-1. However, that strong score line was not the worst it could have been for Cambridge, with WA usurping control of the game from the get go.

The game began shaky for the Ghosts with an offensive run from Cambridge. The attackers immediately put pressure on junior goalkeeper Emma O’Sullivan, encroaching on the crossbar just seconds after kickoff. O’Sullivan kept her cool and defended the net from the onslaught.

WA immediately answered with their first goal, and then another goal off of a highlight play by URI commit, junior Rebecca D’Anna. D’Anna rushed up field all alone, using her speed to blow by defenders, and proceeded to split the Cambridge defense and laid her shot in for a goal. This put WA up to a 2-0 lead.

Cambridge began to apply their own pressure, but were quickly deflated by a nice pass by junior Hannah Roche to D’Anna to notch her second goal of the contest.

Cambridge still faced WA pressure after these quick scores and called a timeout to talk things over.

With a new fire under them, Cambridge came out of the huddle and were able to earn themselves two close free kicks, but were turned away by outstanding WA defense.

One of many lulls in the action ensued, with the Ghosts holding possession for multiple minutes, but they weren’t able to move too far up field without being turned away. On the flip side, every time Cambridge gained possession, the WA defense, headed by junior Katherine Arnold, effectively ruined their attempts to score.

WA piled on the chances as the first half concluded, with the Ghosts leading 3-0.

While Cambridge seemed to be fired up upon leaving their halftime meeting, it was clear WA’s stars had other plans. D’Anna completed her hat trick with another goal.

More back and forth action centered around midfield, but this time Cambridge gained possession during this lull, poised to make a dent in the 4-0 deficit, as they pressured the solid WA defense.

Finally, Cambridge cracked through and scored on a nice header.

WA upped the offensive pressure once again, scoring three times in the span of just a few minutes. These included two consecutive long shots by junior Katherine Pawlak, who appeared to be genuinely surprised she was able to score on both of these shots. The Cambridge goalkeeper was visibly frustrated at this point. Her team’s deficit now sat at 7-1.

The remainder of the game consisted of back and forth play resulting in few chances and no further scoring.

After all was said and done, WA appeared to have dominated this match-up.

They play their next game at home vs Boston Latin this Thursday at 4 P.M.