Banged up Lady Hounds gain split in non-league soccer

The heart and skill of the Lady Greyhound varsity girls soccer
team will be put to the supreme test this week, as they get set to
open the Sonoma County League regular season.
Last week, the Lady Hounds (2-5) put the final wraps on an
injury-riddled pre-league campaign that has seen as many as five
starters out with various ailments during the first month of the
season. Despite a rash of injuries the ladies managed to gain a
split in pre-season action last week, as they fell to Maria
Carrillo, 4-0, but bounced back to defeat Eureka, 3-1.
The latest injury setback occurred on Wednesday during the final
minutes of a 4-0 loss at Maria Carrillo, when a collision between
Healdsburg freshman goalie Elizabeth King and a Lady Puma player
led to a serious leg injury to King. She was carried off the field
and her status for the rest of the season is unknown. With two-year
starting goalie Chelsea Bingham still out rehabbing a broken ankle,
it forces coach Herbert Lemus to make some radical lineup
changes.
³We plan to have Maria Gerstley and Tianna Barbier split time at
goalie,² said Lemus. ³Tianna will play the first 40 minutes of the
game and Maria will play the second half.²
Ironically, the platoon of Gerstley and Barbier involves two of
the team¹s top offensive players in a season where goals have
become a precious commodity. In seven pre-season games, Healdsburg
has managed to score just six times. But, as Friday¹s 3-1 win over
visiting Eureka demonstrated, don¹t ever count a Healdsburg team
out.
In Friday¹s final pre-season clash against Eureka, Courtney
Carlson took a pass from Rachel Constantini and drove it home for
an early, 1-0 lead. The Lady Loggers drew even with 25 minutes gone
in the opening period to send the teams to the locker room
deadlocked at one-apiece.
Constantini put her team ahead for good five minutes into the
second half when she launched a 30-yard shot off the crossbar and
into the net for a 2-1 lead. Barbier iced the contest when she
converted a shot off of a deflection for the eventual 3-1
victory.
³We played a very well-balanced game and had a sense of urgency
against Eureka,² noted Lemus, singling out Marlee Spadoni for her
tremendous play from her defensive/mid position. ³Most of our girls
have been through this situation before with injuries, so we know
we¹ll need to step up to be competitive.²
The ladies hit the road on Friday, Sept. 15 for a 5:30 game at
Casa Grande, and then travel to Petaluma next Wednesday, Sept. 20
for a 7 p.m. contest.