Nationally ranked Marvin Ridge, Providence Day battle to girls’ soccer draw
A matchup of the state’s defending champions of the largest private and public school classifications was played with the intensity you would expect Tuesday night when Providence Day’s girls’ soccer team visited Marvin Ridge.
There was also was a great deal of respect between the teams that grew even greater after the matchup between the nationally ranked teams ended in a 1-all tie.
Providence Day, the defending NCISAA 4A champ, is ranked No. 2 in MaxPreps’ national girls’ soccer poll. Marvin Ridge, the defending NCHSAA 4A champ, is No. 22.
“It was a game of two halves,” Providence Day coach Dan Dudley said. “We dominated the first half and, to Marvin Ridge’s credit, they dominated the second half.
“What you saw was some high talented players on both sides and a very good game.”
The visiting Chargers (6-0-1) took the first seven shots on goal in the contest that included Zoe Hargreaves’ goal off Blane McElroy’s assist with 22:50 left in the opening half.
By halftime, Providence Day had taken 11 shots to two for the host Mavericks.
But the second half was a different story as Marvin Ridge outshot the Chargers 12-8 including Lucy Chin’s goal off a Jessica Mattson assist with 12:10 left in the match.
“I think my girls are incredibly resilient and we welcomed the challenges that we faced tonight that put us in uncomfortable positions,” said Mavericks coach Jenna Borrelli, whose team is now 5-1-3.
Three who made a difference
Blane McElroy, Providence Day: The Chargers’ senior tri-captain, a Princeton commit, picked up her seventh assist of the season (along with seven goals).
Lucy Chin, Marvin Ridge: The sophomore tallied her sixth goal of the year.
Molly Estes, Marvin Ridge: Anderson (S.C.) University commit had seven saves and yielded only the fourth goal she’s allowed in the past two seasons.
Notable
▪ Providence Day junior Devin McElroy, a Miami (Ohio) commit, injured her right leg in the first half and didn’t return.
▪ Marvin Ridge’s Borrelli said pitting the defending state champions against one another was a big reason for their Tuesday matchup. Another had connections to both Borrelli and Providence Day’s Dudley: Borrelli’s Charlotte 49ers coach, John Cullen, had previously coached with Dudley.
▪ Each team returns to action on Friday with Providence Day visiting Hopewell and Ardrey Kell hosting Berry Academy.
They said it
“After this game, you feel the confidence of playing really beautiful soccer so I leave the game really encouraged about the second half of our season.” — Borrelli