LAWRENCE TWP. — Ava Donnelly knows she has to step up now.
The do-it-all junior is going to be relied on to score goals for the Lawrence High girls soccer team now that star senior Becca Boggs’ season is over due to injury.
She’s ready for the challenge.
“Everyone has to step up,” Donnelly said after she bagged a pair of goals and set up another in the Cardinals’ 4-0 victory over Robbinsville on Thursday night. “Everyone has collectively stepped up as a group and we’ve been working together well. Everyone has been connecting well so we have been able to do that together.”
Donnelly’s brace brought her season total to seven.
“Ava is just such a good teammate and always wants to win,” Lawrence coach Emily Palombo said. “She’s been able to step up and fill some roles since we lost Becca.”
Lawrence (8-4) has won games without Boggs before, including three playoff games last season when she was battling an illness.
“It makes our mentality better because it’s possible without her even though she’s a huge asset,” Donnelly said. “It makes us believe a little bit more because we have that past of what happened.”
The Cards also got goals from Caelyn LaFlamme and Amber Wooding on their Senior Night.
Wooding’s goal was particularly special because she missed basically all of last season with a knee injury when she was injured 10 minutes into the season opener.
“It was a lot that I went through,” Wooding said. “I pushed myself and I had ups and downs.”
Wooding is another player who can step up.
“That’s a really big role to play in,” she said.
Donnelly, though, is the go-to player now.
Which is amazing to think about since she’s not even a full-time soccer player given her focus on track.
“It correlates because you need stamina on the field,” Donnelly said. “It all kind of comes together and helps. It’s been beneficial to do both.”
Robbinsville (2-8-1) 0 0 — 0
Lawrence (8-4) 3 1 — 4
Goals: Donnelly 2, C. LaFlamme, Wooding (L). Assists: Donnelly, Wooding (L). Saves: Kachurak 4 (L).
