Girls’ soccer, 3-2, beat Braintree 5-1 at home on Friday Sept. 15th, due to a hat trick from freshman Maia Kramer.
The first twenty minutes of the game were controlled by North, as they kept the ball in Braintree’s territory for the majority of the time. They had multiple shots on goal, but couldn’t seem to get past the Braintree goalie.
“It’s always nice to keep the ball in protected territory, so the game is more predictable for the goalkeeper,” said head coach Alisa Carrillo.
Late in the first half, Kramer got behind the goalie after an upfield kick, and dribbled in to give North a 1-0 lead over the Wamps.
Holding on to a slim lead, North relied on its defense to hold off Braintree. Several slide tackles from junior Annie Tobin and a few upfield kicks from sophomore Kate Rooney allowed the Tigers to maintain their lead.
Not satisfied with their performance in the first half, North came out firing in the second half when senior Lexi Gentile scored, giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Soon after scoring, North was caught off guard, as Braintree scored on sophomore Oksana Kelly, the goalie.
Later in the half, Kramer scored her second goal of the game, extending the lead to 3-0.
Rain started falling towards the end of the half, but North was determined to get the win. With less than five minutes in the game, Kramer scored her third goal of the night, giving her a natural hat trick.
“Any time a ninth grader scores three goals in one game, people like to get excited and start thinking about the future, but right now we’re concerned about our next game,” said Carrillo.
Another goal from junior Ariana Bunch sealed the deal, as North went on to win 5-1.
“We were still going full force, and everyone was really into it, and everyone really wanted to win, so we came out strong after halftime,” said senior Lydia Smith, a captain with seniors Lauren Eckenrode and Julia MacDonald.