Cardinal Newman Women's Soccer flexed their depth and skill in their 5-2 win over Analy Friday night. The Cardinals dominated possession and set a lethal high press that led to 9 shots on goal for the Cardinals.

Analy had just 4 shots on goal due to Newman's dominant back 4; most notably, Juliet Diehl and Lauren Mckeown who held the line while Newman set the high press.

Analy was pretty solid on defense in the first half of the first half, but Newman kept pressing with Abella Hunter, Alex Barnes and Bella D'Amico moving the ball down the right sideline and setting up crossing chances.

Senior Sofia Lightner and Freshman Eleanora Snearly kept pressing the Tiger defense and eventually they broke through. In the 26th minute, Snearly got a through pass from Lightner and fired a goal in from 8 yards out to give Newman a 1-0 lead. About 5 minutes later, Snearly gave Lightner a nice through pass and Lightner finished it in the back of the net to give Newman a brace.

Analy finally broke the Newman high press and put a nice pass between the back defenders to Giselle White with 4 minutes left in the first half. White put a nice shot over goalkeeper Talia Woods' dive and into the back of the net to pull Analy back within a goal before the break. 

The Cardinals kept up their press up in the 2nd Half and about 20 minutes into the 2nd Half, Newman got another brace as they worked it into the left corner and Sofia Lightner sent in a beautiful cross that was headed in by Bella D'Amico to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.

Analy responded by setting a high press of their own, but UC Davis commit Abella Hunter broke it, breezing past 4 defenders and finishing with a goal to put it away for the Cardinals.

Newman subbed in a lot of reserve players to focus on their development. These players came in and kept the momentum with Newman, fighting hard for more chances to score and expand the lead.

Newman broke Analy's press constantly and set up a lot of chances that came up empty, but then they finally broke through. Eleanora Snearly sent in a fantastic cross to Maddie Fuller who found Hennessey Saunders on the other goal post for a goal. Saunders' goal put Newman up 5-1, and Talia Woods was subbed out for her cousin, Freshman Ava Woods.

Analy pressed hard and got one back on a deflection off of a great save made by Woods on a cross that fell Giselle White, who tapped it in for her second goal of the game. Newman moved the ball around and kept possession to keep their 3 goal lead before the ref blew his whistle for full time. Newman had won 5-2 and kept their #1 spot in league, with 2-0-1 record. 

Newman's depth is fantastic, and the roster is filled with skilled players. The Cardinals' subs made instant impacts on the game and showed why Newman's program is so good; coaching and development. The subs knew where they were supposed to be on the field and contributed to the 5 goals Newman had on Friday.

In a program where a lot of great players are coming and graduating, it is important to be able to replace great players with other great players. Newman seems to have that. The performance by the Freshmen and Sophomores showed how bright the future is for CN, something that is so important when losing a lot of great seniors this year including Abella Hunter and Sofia Lightner.

The Seniors showed off their experience and how big of a part they are to the program. Sofia Lightner and Eleanora Snearly were selected as the women of the match for Newman. "It's awesome. It's great. Love it," Lightner said enthusiastically when talking about the depth of the team and the sophomores and freshmen that are rising through the ranks. "I've got great Seniors with me and I can't wait for the season ahead," Snearly added. 

Newman stays undefeated and moves on to face Sonoma Academy, Tuesday at 4PM n a tough battle and Windsor Thursday in Oak League play. Both games are on the road.