By Dylan Butler
Karine Zuma sat on the bench, buried her head in her hands and cried tears of frustration. The Francis Lewis senior forward didn’t have the look of someone whose goal had given the Patriots a 1-0 halftime lead over Flushing Monday at Flushing Memorial Field.
Instead, the ultra competitive Zuma sat and thought about several first half breakaways that went awry. Her missed opportunities were a microcosm of her team’s first half. It was the Patriots first game back from spring break and several key members of the team were still on vacation.
“We were a little tired,” Zuma said. “We only practiced twice last week. A lot of the girls went away.”
Lewis got rid of some of the cobwebs after halftime, scoring four second half goals – including two more by Zuma – en route to a 5-0 win over the Red Devils.
“The girls that we were missing are acalming influence, passing comes along easier,” said Lewis first-year coach Roger Sarmuksnis. “The majority of this team is sophomores. We’re building.”
Zuma scored her second goal of the game two minutes into the second half on another breakaway. Flushing (1-3, 1-2 Queens I) had its two best chances of the game 10 minutes after Zuma’s goal. Hema Sirrikrisnigee’s low shot inside the box rolled just wide of the far post in the 52nd minute. Two minutes later Jessica Aguilar’s free kick from 22 yards out was stopped by Lewis keeper Nesime Bal.
One minute later Lewis sophomore Julie Xie had her own breakaway stopped by Flushing keeper Adrianol Navarette. But Xie pounced on the rebound and beat Navarette from 10 yards out with a low shot inside the far post to put Lewis ahead 3-0 in the 55th minute.
“I just dribbled down and everyone was screaming for me to take the shot,” she said. “I knew I had to keep at it, I knew I couldn’t give up.”
Zuma again broke free down the wing in the 59th minute, but this time she centered the ball through the box and found sophomore Jennifer Pambukion, who rocketed a one-timer into the net to give the Patriots a four-goal lead.
“We played more like a team in the second half,” said Pambukion, who scored her first career high school goal. “They were bigger than us and it was kind of intimidating, but we were skillful.”
Zuma capped the scoring in the 73rd minute when she shook off a defender and beat Navarette from 14 yards out for her third goal of the game.
Cardozo 4, Newcomers 0. Stephanie DiTaranto scored two goals to lead the Judges (4-0 Queens III) past Newcomers into sole possession of first place in Queens III.
Forest Hills 4, John Adams 2. Ana Borges scored all four goals for the Rangers (3-3, 1-3 Queens II), improving her total to 15 for the season.
Bayside 5, Hillcrest 0. Emily Andricosky had a hat trick and Elizabeth Guerra and Carolina Wesso each added a goal apiece for the Commodores (4-2, 4-1 Queens I).
Townsend Harris 10, Beach Channel 1. Stacy Christofordis had three goals and Talya Oberfield added a pair for the Hawks (6-0, 4-0 Queens I).
Jamaica 5, Arts & Business 0. Claudia Galeano had two goals for Jamaica (3-2, 2-2 Queens III).
