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NEW CANAAN, Conn. No matter the sport, Sarah Mannelly knows how to score. New Canaan's three-sport senior standout was back on the soccer field on opening night of the 2011-12 high school sports season after dominating the basketball court and the lacrosse field last school year. Mannelly netted a hat trick in the first half of the Rams' opener, leading the team to a bruising 8-0 victory over Norwalk.
"I played some forward in scrimmages, so that kind of prepared me coming in," the always soft-spoken Mannelly said. "Overall, we were just playing really good soccer. We connected on almost all of our passes and moved up and down the field with no problems."
Norwalk kept up the pace with the Rams for the first 15 minutes of the game, but it soon became clear that New Canaan was just too fast for the Bears. Mannelly opened the scoring, sliding a shot by the low left post, and New Canaan was off and running.
The Rams dominated possession from that point on, quickly piling on the goals. Anna Borea drilled a high, arcing shot from 20 yards out that sailed over the outstretched leap of Norwalk goalie Emma Turchick, extending the New Canaan lead to 2-0 with 16:47 remaining in the half.
The first-half scoring was far from over, as Stephanie Benko fed Mannelly the next two New Canaan goals. The first came in a scramble in front of the net, followed by another low corner shot that was perfectly placed by Mannelly.
Madzie Carroll capped off the first-half scoring for New Canaan, drilling a 10-yard shot and beating Turchick to the low post again. Several backup players saw significant playing time, as Eileen Dinney, Lauren Holec and Courtney Overacker scored in the second half.
"It's just good to see them come out and work as a team," New Canaan head coach Kirk Bamford said. "You don't expect to come out and win eight-nil, but I was happy how we picked our socks up after those first 15 minutes."
New Canaan will travel to Fairfield Warde on Thursday for a 4 p.m. game before hosting its first home game of the season next Wednesday.
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