George School wins Friends League girls soccer title

Home-field advantage didn't last long for the Shipley School Gators Tuesday, as their home field, appropriately titled "the Farm," was invaded with wild Cougar faithful midway through the Friends School League Girls' soccer championship game.

The emotional boost helped George School overthrow the undefeated Gators, 3-1, as they took the Friends School League crown.

"Our kids got out of school and got here about halfway through," George School coach Tom Griffith said. "So, when they started yelling, 'Go Cougars,' that pumped our team up because they took full advantage of it."

The Cougars, who finished 11-2-3, never looked back. Led by sophomore forward Priscilla Wiggins, George School took a 1-1 tie into the second half and added two more goals while blanking the Gators after the break.

Wiggins had a part in all three George School goals, scoring in the first half, adding an assist to Kate Harkins at the start of the second, and scoring her second goal of the game in the final minutes.

Despite controlling the attack in the second half, George School knew taming the Gators would be no easy task. One of the Cougars' two defeats was a 2-1 loss to Shipley in mid-October.

"They beat us the first game," Griffith said. "And, there's always a little hesitancy here. Big field, turf, you know, the whole thing."

The Cougars responded positively to their environment, though, and Wiggins' first-half goal put George School ahead, 1-0.

Shipley's lone goal was scored off a first-half penalty kick from senior midfielder Tara Stokes later in the first half.

Griffith said Wiggins' first goal helped propel the Cougars.

"That got us off on a good start," he said. "We missed [stopping] that penalty kick, but we still responded pretty well."

George School's defense, led by senior Stephanie Feinman and sophomore Chrissy Heney, kept the ball from getting past goalie Liz Bitzer for the rest of the afternoon.

For Shipley, the loss was a result of missed opportunities, as well as a dangerous George School squad.

"It's always hard to beat a good team twice in the same year," Shipley coach Sean Costello said. "We came in confident, but we knew how good they were. We knew it was going to be a good game, and they put a couple in the net, and we had our opportunities. They capitalized and we didn't make the best of ours."

While Costello said the loss was disappointing, he said their nearly undefeated season - 12-1-2 - was a major accomplishment considering the Gators only won one game in 2008.

"They're a fun group," Costello said. "They're lighthearted. They're disappointed, but they know in the big picture, they accomplished quite a bit this year."

George School     1 2 - 3

Shipley    1 0 - 1

Goals: GS-Priscilla Wiggins (2), Kate Harkins. S-Tara Stokes.