“It felt so good to score against the No. 1 team and it was just a big relief,” said Passaro, who leads St. Anthony’s with eight goals this season. “And I knew that after we scored one, we’d be able to pull it together and keep them from scoring, too.” Passaro has earned her teammate’s trust with her play this season for St. Anthony’s (5-0).
“I know whenever I can get the ball to her, she’ll really make good use of the ball and get it in the back of the net,” Bonifazio said. “Because whenever she does get it, she always does something with it.”
Coach Sue Alber credited her entire team for a strong game, in which the Friars controlled possession with a strong defense and midfielders such as Lauren Haggerty, Lauren Hackett, Melissa DiMonda and Victoria Mule.
“You lose a league final, you want revenge,” Alber said. “There was an extra chip on our shoulder today.”
Goalkeeper Vanessa Cole had 10 saves, including a key stop on a free kick from barely outside the 18-yard box with two minutes remaining. Sara Micheli had 14 saves for Sacred Heart (5-1).
“Coming into this season, we didn’t know if we would be the most talented team and we didn’t really know where the new players were going to lead us and how’d we play together,” Cole said. “And honestly, it feels great to know [they] really keep their heads in the game and they know what it’s like to want to win.”