Four games over two days is what it took to claim the title to the Trinity-MA Invitational Tournament. Off to a shaky start on Friday evening, the Lady Knights dropped their first game to Montgomery Academy in a 1-0 loss. The lone score occurred midway through the second half, and Catholic’s girls had trouble settling in to a rhythm. Saturday brought with it a renewed motivation, and Catholic went on a three game tear. The morning’s first game was against familiar post-season opponent, Bayside Academy from Mobile. Shannon Guinn and Cynthia Weber teamed up as Shannon sent a pass to Cynthia who closed for the score. A direct kick from Allison Belsterling off a foul resulted in Catholic’s second goal ending the first half. Allison started off the second half by beating defenders for a solo effort goal, and a few minutes later she passed to Kristin Sutton who finished low for a goal. Eileen Merino added goals five and six to close things out. Lauren Yates and Courtney Willcox combined efforts to secure the shutout. Final score: Catholic 6, Bayside 0.
Next, the Lady Knights met Prattville in the semi-final game. Catholic scored twice in the first half, the first off a corner kick which Grace Carl finished, and the second on a pass from Shannon to Allison who beat the keeper for the goal. Prattville scored in the second half to narrow Catholic’s lead, but the Lady Knights maintained control for the 2-1 win.
The championship game reunited Friday’s teams in a Catholic-MA final. Allison scored all four goals for Catholic, two in the first half, and two in the second. MA mounted an offensive attack to end the first half with a goal with only two seconds remaining on the clock. While disappointed by allowing this goal, the Lady Knights remained composed and undeterred, controlling the second half for the win. Second half scoring came off assists from Shannon to Allison. Final score: Catholic 4, MA 1. Allison Belsterling was selected as Catholic’s tournament MVP and had 7 goals for the tournament.
