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Holden scores hat trick
By Kevin Hageland, Staff Writer
Watch VideoPlano East came into Tuesday night’s District 9-5A opener with a wealth of confidence, having just won the Lewisville Tournament.
And the Lady Panthers made certain they were able to build on that confidence by defeating Lake Highlands, 4-0, to open district play. That is the same score by which East finished the Lewisville Tournament, beating Arlington in the finals.
“Ending 4-0 and starting 4-0 shows what we are capable of offensively,” said Dawn Crow, East head coach. “But it’s the zero goals that will be huge for us in district.”
The first of Holden’s three goals came on a shot that was initially saved by the Lake Highlands keeper, but the deflection went to Holden, who buried the shot in the open net.
“Serena and I have been working on our pressure,” Holden said. “That was big tonight because Lake Highlands was playing really physical, but we were able to play quick.”
The half gave Lake Highlands a brief respite from East’s pressure, but as soon as the whistle was blown for the start of the second half, the Lady Panthers cranked the pressure right back up. Holden got East on the board two more times with a pair of goals in a two-minute span to give the Lady Panthers a 4-0 lead.
“Marissa has really been coming into her own,” Crow said. “She is asking lots of questions and that shows that she wants to get better.”
Holden’s second goal came when the Lady Wildcats keeper made the initial save but allowed the ball to come loose and trickle through her legs for the goal.
The Lady Panthers may have a tougher challenge Friday as they face Plano West, 7:30 p.m. at Clark East.
But momentum and confidence isn’t a problem for East after their performance over the weekend. The Lady Panthers had twice finished third in pre-district tournaments, in Frisco and Plano, but took first place in Lewisville by going 2-0-1.
“We had been a little shaky in the tournaments, and we won Lewisville last year, so we really needed to win it again,” Holden said. “That boosted our morale; we always seem to start strong, now we are focused on keeping that up in practice and during games.”
East started the weekend event in Lewisville with a 1-1 tie against Keller Fossil Ridge. The lone goal was scored by Hines with an assist from Holden. The Lady Panthers won their second game, defeating Lewisville, 1-0. Courtney Garner notched the lone score with an assist from Ashley Sullivan.
“Ashley has really made a difference for us,” Crow said. “She has been winning balls in mid-air, and can spray balls all over the field and keep everyone involved.”
The finals were East’s most lopsided victory of the weekend as the Lady Panthers defeated Arlington, 4-0. Holden had two goals, while Carolyn Polcari and Ashley Ramos each reached the back of the net once. Holden and Polcari both had assists in the finals, as did Katie Leto, a locker room favorite.
“I was happy that we won the Lewisville Tournament,” Crow said. “Especially with the two shutouts.”
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
Panther Fan wrote on Feb 6, 2008 8:13 AM:
" Hello - Glad to see that the title of this article was changed. The Holden's house was on fire yesterday after lightening struck it. The Plano East Soccer Booster Club will be assisting the family by setting up an account at a local bank for donations. Marissa's mom teaches at Murphy Middle School. "
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