By Avonlea Cummings
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
In the evening, the air settled over the Milton turf as the Needham girls soccer team prepared to face their hosts. In a challenging evening match, the Needham girls fell short to Milton, with Milton securing a 1-0 victory through a breakaway goal.
The girls displayed strength and determination in the first half of the heated competition, with the loud cheers from the crowd energizing both teams. Needham maintained possession for most of the first half but struggled to convert their passes into scoring opportunities. It wasn't until the second half that Milton began making strategic changes to their lineup, posing challenges to Needham. Head coach Kayla Steeves praised the team's performance but acknowledged the difficulty in adjusting to Milton's altered tactics.
"In the first half, we had excellent ball possession and a strong connection. However, in the second half, Milton made several adjustments that disrupted our flow, limiting our possession. I emphasized to the girls that while we had possession, especially in the first half, we didn't capitalize on it. Milton came out with determination and earned their victory," Steeves commented.
Despite Milton's breakaway goal, the Needham girls exhibited resilience throughout the match. Steeves recognizes the importance of learning from this experience and using it as a baseline for the season. The team is committed to working hard in practice to prepare for upcoming games.
"The season is relatively short, and we have many games in a limited time frame. We must quickly learn from our mistakes. Tomorrow, we will address the loss and focus on improving areas that need attention as we move forward. Setting this match as our baseline is our best approach," Steeves added.
Next, Needham will host Brookline on Tuesday, September 19th, at the DeFazio fields, with the competition scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
