LP defense can't handle LaBelle

With two sharpshooting forwards, LaBelle didn't need any second chances Monday night.

Lake Placid provided them anyway.

Taking full advantage of sloppy ball-handling near the goal, LaBelle buried two first-half goals and sent the Lake Placid girls soccer team to its third straight loss, 3-1 at Roger Scarborough Memorial Field.

"When we put it all together we do great," Green Dragons coach John Merlo said, "and when we have mental lapses and don't do the little things, we look awful."

This was one of those nights.

LaBelle scored twice after gathering a deflected shot near the goal and kept constant pressure on Green Dragons goalkeeper Sarah Thompson. The defenders tried frantically to boot the ball out of their zone, but did so unsuccessfully.

The news was even worse after the game: Stopper Brandy Landers, one of the Green Dragons' best defenders, suffered a right knee injury in the final 3 minutes of the match. She was carried off the field, placed on the side bleachers and then helped into the team locker room, where she was examined by a trainer.

"I was pulling everybody because we were down 3-1," Merlo said, "and she was about to come out, too. You hate yourself for that sometimes."

One of the few bright spots for Lake Placid was Yuribia Terrones, who netted her 18th goal of the season in the first half. She is on pace to score more than 30 goals this season (she had 27 last year).

Still, Terrones, freshman Michelle Hunter - who already has 14 goals this season - and the rest of the Green Dragons offense never got in a rhythm Monday, with LaBelle controlling the ball and continually attacking the goal.

"It's just those little touches," Merlo said. "We've got the forwards to score a lot of goals, but we just need to get the passes to them."

Fourteen minutes into the match, midfielder Brianna Sanchez popped a chip shot over Thompson's head to put LaBelle ahead 1-0. Four minutes later, however, Terrones launched a shot from the right sideline - on a seemingly broken play - that bounced off LaBelle goalkeeper Kindall Tindall's hands and dropped into the back-left corner of the net.

Kayla Keller then blazed a shot past Thompson with 9 minutes left in the first half to give LaBelle a 2-1 lead at halftime - a margin that could have been much wider had the Cowboys converted any of their numerous opportunities from point-blank range.

"When we play in the district," Merlo said, "we play all out and play hard. But when we're not, we sometimes lose concentration and the little things just kill us."

That was apparent in the second half, when Brenda DeSantiago knocked in a deflection with 18 minutes left in the match to give LaBelle a 3-1 lead it never threatened to surrender.

"It's coming. We're still a work in progress," Merlo said. "It's a rebuilding year, but we're 8-5 and I'll take these kinds of rebuilding years anytime. I think we're going to peak at just the right time."