Nightmare scares Rovers, 7-4

The Amherst Rovers only had the lead once in a 7-4 loss to the Northtowns Nightmare on Feb. 2. It was an indoor travel Buffalo Western New York Junior Soccer League game.

Amherst's Maria Lafornayra put Amherst up 1-0 early, threading the needle between the goalie and the near side post with a hard low shot.

The Nightmare quickly answered and would go up 3-1 before Amherst's Courtney Sugarman got just enough of a bouncing rebound to close the deficit to one right before halftime.

The Nightmare dominated the first part of the second half, building a seemingly insurmountable 6-2 lead. But once again, Amherst continued playing hard despite the odds and closed it to 6-4. Sarah Snyder sent a blooper over the goalie's head off a corner kick for Amherst's third goal. Lafornayra scored Amherst's last goal when she beat the goalie cleanly with a hard high shot on a hurried penalty kick.

Northtowns would add a late goal.

Other offensive plays for the Rovers included the following. Kali James triggered a breakaway with a beautiful pass up the left side. Allie Troncone displayed some nice footwork in beating defenders and forcing turnovers. Julia Newton managed to save a ball from going out of bounds then knocked it out off the other team.

Defensively, Sarah Snyder had a monster game, blocking shots, intercepting passes, and otherwise stuffing Northtowns players trying to work their way close to the net. Joy Thompson made a great leg save in goal on a breakaway that looked like a sure goal. Colleen Stelley broke up several scoring chances as last defensive back. Jade Brooks made several plays right in front of Amherst's net to prevent scoring chances. Julia Struble dove on several balls in dangerous situations in goal in the first half.