**Note: This article originally published in The Reporter and on GameTimePA.com**
UPPER DUBLIN — The Souderton girls’ lacrosse team used an 8-0 second half run to take control and take down Upper Dublin on Tuesday by a 13-7 score.
Amber Lambeth led the charge for Big Red (4-2), scoring six goals in the victory.
After a back-and-forth first half that ended with the score tied at four, Upper Dublin (1-3) scored two goals in the opening minutes of the second half. From there, Souderton flipped the switch and was able to seize control, highlighted by three goals in 1:15 to take a 7-6 lead.
“At halftime we talked about a couple of things we were doing on the attack,’ Souderton coach Kelly Kelly said. “We were getting over-excited and trying to get that goal immediately when we needed to settle it down, play our game, set up and get into a couple of plays. We didn’t run any plays in the first half. Then we started to work together and the motion was a lot better for us.’
Lambeth proved time and again to be a vital part of that attack, accounting for almost half of her team’s goals. She wasn’t alone, however, as she was quick to point out.
“I was face-guarded so a lot of my teammates were able to set picks for me and get me open,’ Lambeth said. “We had a couple of plays that allowed us to do that. Everyone was able to score and that was awesome because we didn’t just rely on one person.’
Carlie Doughty and Natalie Bulgier added two goals a piece, while Krista Schneider, Kristen Gibbs and Brittany Roynan each tallied one for Big Red.
Another key to the Souderton victory was containing Julie Cross, the driving force of the Upper Dublin offense, who scored six of the Lady Cards’ seven goals on the day. Cross scored the sixth UD goal two minutes into the second half to give her team a 6-4 lead, but that would be the last goal for Upper Dublin until the 2:50 mark. Souderton did a much better job of defending in the second half, and the score line showed it.
“We know Julie Cross is a phenomenal player so coming in we wanted to focus on our game plan and our movement on attack as well as slides on our defense,’ Kelly said.
“I always say to the girls on re-defending, ‘there is no let down.’ If the ball is higher than you, we have a problem because you need to get higher than the ball to help out your defense. That’s been another point of emphasis for us — getting back and re-defending higher than the ball.’
The quick three-goal outburst by Souderton to take a 7-6 lead led to an Upper Dublin timeout in the hope of getting some momentum back. The resulting play saw some solid possession by the Lady Cards, but two missed shots and a great save by Souderton goalie Kelly Williams followed by a goal-scoring counter attack essentially locked up the non-conference victory.
“That’s what we’ve also been focusing on,’ Kelly said. “Getting different levels to open the attack coming down and that does open it up for a fast break.’
Souderton opens up league play against Neshaminy Thursday, while Upper Dublin will take on Upper Merion the same day.
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