Rachel Kim notched one goal and one assist, Heather Glasser added a score, and Long Reach girls soccer collected its second county win Tuesday by defeating visiting Hammond 2-1.
"I feel excited every time we win," said Long Reach coach Erik Sandersen after the game. "We did a lot of great things to create some chances."
The Lightning jumped out ahead early, as Lauren Murphy sent a pass to Kim, who then took a long shot for the game's first goal 24 minutes into the opening half.
"She's a great player — a lot of times the best player on the field — and some of it gets lost in the mix," Sandersen said about the sophomore Kim, who plays a little bit of everything on the field. "She has a lot of great dribbling skills, and a lot of speed. She's strong defensively, strong on the ball…and has a shot that's very dangerous. She's got a college future ahead of her."
Kim didn't stop at just the goal.
With 25 minutes remaining in the second half, Kim's corner kick met teammate, and senior captain, Heather Glasser, who headed the pass into the net to make it 2-0 Lightning.
"When I hit the ball with my head, I thought 'yes, this is going in,'" Glasser said of Kim's "beautiful" corner.
Kim was excited about her team's performance, but said that she expects better play as the season progresses.
"I think we played well, but we could have played a lot better. We just need some time to get our chemistry together," she said.
After losing a number of important players from last year's team, Kim said the first few weeks have been all about developing a relationship with her teammates.
"We're definitely going forward as a team, and we will end up becoming a team to look out for," she said.
Glasser agreed, saying that the 2013 Lightning are "basically a brand new team," and that the next few games are all about getting everyone on the same page.
Hammond coach Michael Koplow said he "couldn't be prouder" of the way his team fought. Coming off a 5-0 win at Oxon Hill the night before, the coach said Tuesday's loss meant much more to his team.
"This was perhaps our best game that we played," he said. "They have a lot of guts and a lot of energy. We play real strong every time we go out, wet leave everything on the field."
Though Long Reach had a multitude of other opportunities to strike, including a penalty kick that bounced off the crossbar, and multiple breakaway chances that were foiled by Hammond, the Lightning still had a two-goal lead over the Golden Bears with twenty minutes to play.
Two minutes later, it was freshman Dani Abel who eliminated any ideas of a shutout after she took a pass from her sister, Gabi, and scored for Hammond.
"I think it was sort of a family affair tonight," Koplow said.
The Abel sisters, including the older Michelle, "played fantastically across the middle," he said, while the Kawasakis (Juno and Michelle) impressed their coach as well.
As the final 10 minutes ticked away, the Golden Bears started to press on offense, giving Lightning players all they could handle.
But, after an arsenal of Golden Bear shots couldn't find the back of the net, the game ended with Long Reach on top.
"Hammond played with a lot of heart the whole game, and created a lot of chances for themselves," Sandersen said. "I have to give them a lot of credit for working the whole 80 minutes."
Long Reach gets a big test Thursday with River Hill coming to town. The Golden Bears won't be back in action again until Friday, when they welcome Marriotts Ridge.
Around the county:
Wilde Lake drops Centennial 3-2
Sarah Hulit, Amy Radcliffe and Rachael Lazris all scored for the Cats. Megan Oliver and Mary Anderson each scored for the Eagles.
Wilde Lake was down 2-0 before scoring.
"We created a lot of chances for our forwards," Wildecats coach Davia Procida said. "Our team could have just gone through the motions being down 0-2 in the first thirty minutes. Our team gathered themselves, pumped each other up and played for each other and showed guts and heart.
"I am so proud of them and happy to be their coach."
Centennial coach Steve Baxter said he isn't going to dwell on his team's first loss, citing physicality and tacitcal issues as the main focus going forward.
"First of all, give all credit to Wilde Lake for playing so hard," he said. "They did an excellent job...We will work on correcting our mistakes and making adjustments to our play to get better ball possession."
Wilde Lake's Lauren Huchinson had seven saves. Lindsay Davis tallied nine stops for the Eagles.
Mt. Hebron defeated Oakland Mills 2-0
Kelly Richards had a goal and an assist for the Vikings. Jen Giles also scored, while Amanda Steinmuller notched an assist of her own.
Mary Stockford had 23 saves for the Scorpions.
Marriotts Ridge takes down Reservoir 3-1
Maria Plano (2) and Mary Koutrelakos each scored for Marriotts Ridge. Sam Price and Naomi Feldman had assists.
Paola Rosa scored the lone goal for the Gators on a Keri Rager assist.
River Hill defeated Glenelg 3-1
Sheridan Street, Jen Voyton and Jessica Hopkins scored for the Hawks.
Rachel Nicols scored on an Audrey Ford assist for the Gladiators.
Glenelg Country takes down Key 3-1
Sabrina DeLeonibus and Kiersten Moore (2) each scored for the Dragons. Moore also picked up an assist in the win.
Chapelgate loses 3-1 to AACS
Lydia Frierson scored the Yellowjackets' only goal.
Atholton beats Howard in OT 1-0
Devon Bodziony scored for the Raiders off an Emma Johnson assist. Darcey Bodziony had 10 saves.