Girl's Soccer: PHS 6, Stratford 0

Coming off of Tuesday's win against Bethel on Bethel High School's home field, a 4-0 shut-out, did the Pomperaug High School Girls' Varsity Soccer team get cocky and give up a win?

Nope: They beat Stratford by a score of 6-0.

It didn't take the Panthers too long to get the ball rolling: Alexa Jakiela scored within the first minute of the game off of a pass from Abby Ruane.

A few minutes later, Julia Cipriano danced through Stratford's defense and kicked it hard into the goal, giving Pomperaug a 2-0 lead with after playing only five minutes.

Stratford, who had very few shots-on-goal during the game, kicked it right into the hands of goalie Kate Nadler while trying to connect during a goal kick. Nadler stopped, caught, or booted downfield every ball that came near her during Thursday's game.

With 14 minutes left in the half, Brianna Curcio unloaded on the ball, kicking it far, high, and right past the goalie's hands and into the net, bringing Pomperaug up to a 3-0 lead.

With six minutes remaining in the first half, Taylor Goldstein scored from no-man's-land, adding insult to Stratford's injury.

The first half ended with Pomperaug in the lead, 4-0.

During half time, spectator Michele Federico's reaction to the game so far was simple.

"Pomperaug is dominating the game," said Federico. "The other team is struggling getting [the ball] past midfield."

The second half started off with very little change in pace or momentum; within the first minute Pomperaug got a shot off, missing the goal by just a bit, but still proving that they were running the show.

The fifth goal came eight minutes into the second half, when Taylor Fleming kicked the ball from a distance, sending it over the goalie's head for another Pomperaug goal.

Sixty seconds later Julia Cipriano tapped it into the net after a feed from Alexa Jakiela.

Pomperaug held their own on the defensive end as well: with three minutes left, Stratford had a clear shot at the net. Jess Miller dove in front of the kick, blocking it with her body, and keeping the shutout alive.

The game ended with Pomperaug winning 6-0, marking their second straight shutout, bringing their record to two wins, zero losses for the season so far.

Coach Doug Brocksmith was much happier about his team's performance on Thursday than he was after Tuesday's game.

"We definitely improved….it was definitely much, much better than the Bethel game."

Pomperaug's Brianna Curcio said that though the game went well, there's always room for improvement.

"We have to keep bonding as a team, keep working hard, and do what we've got to do."

Pomperaug heads to Newtown's Treadwell Town Park to take on Newtown High School on Monday, Sept. 20, at 3:45 p.m.