Six-goal second half leads Mepham

You could barely tell which of the Ayinde twins, Safi or Sali, was playing up top or back at sweeper, but with both in either position, Mepham used its speed to defeat Calhoun, 7-2, in a Conference III girls’ soccer game last Monday. The two seniors combined for three goals and multiple stops on defense.

Within minutes after kickoff, Safi Ayinde scored for the Lady Pirates.  The first 40 minutes saw a game of back and forth with Calhoun playing a flat-back four defense trying to catch Mepham’s strikers offside. Nora Charidah sent a ball into Mepham’s defensive end where Taylor Sipos got the Lady Colts on the board and tied the game at 1-1.

The first half looked like fans would be treated to a great game of district rivalry, with each team playing a bit of mental game as well as a physical one. 

“Whenever you play Calhoun or Kennedy a lot of times it doesn’t come down to talent, cause we’re all in the same district,” Mepham coach Jim McManus said.

Calhoun seemed to get the best of Mepham early on; the Lady Pirates looked flat on their defensive end the first half and were never able to pull away. Calhoun capitalized off Mepham’s  problems in the backfield as Lady Colts senior Ellie Rosenblum scrambled with the ball at her feet and three defenders around her to notch Calhoun’s final goal, which gave it a 2-1 lead at

The second half was nothing like the first. McManus decided to switch the Ayinde sisters and put Sali up top. The decision proved to be the right one as Sali assisted the tying goal for Mepham (5-0) and just a few minutes later headed in a free kick from fellow senior Jillian Picinich. Sali’s speed in the Lady Colts’ end proved to be destructive, as their zone defense couldn’t keep up. 

“The flat four has been working for us but now when we see the better competition like we did [against Mepham] it didn’t work for us,” Calhoun coach Lori Biscardi said.

Nearly 20 minutes into the second half, Toni Simpson extended the Mepham lead to 4-2. Calhoun (2-1-1) tried its best to break through the Lady Pirates’ defense, but was unable — a consistent problem for all of Mepham’s opponents it seems. 

Mepham’s defense allowed only five shots on goal, about average for his team McManus said. “You would not believe that we are a defensive team,” he said.

“This is what we’ve been averaging all year, so we’re a defensive team, but we’re scoring a lot of goals.”

Consistently keeping Calhoun out of their end, the Lady Pirates tacked on three more goals, giving them six in the second half.

The teams meet again Oct. 18 at Mepham.