By Mike Rubin

The Somerville High School girls soccer team emerged with a key victory Sept. 15 over Malden. Freshman Rachael Berry and sophomore Natalie Henrique notched a goal apiece as the Highlanders escaped with a 2-1 victory over Greater Boston League rivals. With the win, the Highlanders improved their record to 2-1 overall.

After both teams battled to a scoreless draw in the opening minutes, the Highlanders grabbed a 1-0 lead at the 15 minute mark. Off a loose ball, Berry, positioned outside the crease, knocked in a header into the back of the net.

It stayed that way until 25 minutes into the first half on an odd sequence. Off a through ball, Highlander goalkeeper Kelsey Garrity attempted to collect the ball for a clear. Instead, the ball hopped over her head and trickled past the goal crease, tying the contest at 1-1.

“It would have been a simple bounce on most fields,” said coach Jason Lenicheck.”But because Conway field (our game got moved there to accommodate a double-booking of the field at Dilboy) leads to odd bounces, and the ball came up very high and over her head into the goal.”

In the final minutes of the first half, Henrique delivered the eventual game winner. Off a breakaway opportunity, Henrique maneuvered through a pair of Golden Tornado defenders and tucked in a shot just inside the far post for the 2-1 lead.

“It came at the end of a series of really pretty passes by several players, including senior midfielder Marrara Goncalves, senior forward Jessica Menjivar, and senior midfielder Leslie Aviles, who played in her first varsity game,” said Lenicheck. “The goal itself was a simply struck shot that Natalie has done so often that she makes it look easy: just a nice, firm shot struck low toward the far post area of the goal.”

With nearly an entire new squad to work with, Lenicheck has been more than pleased with the team’s rapid progress throughout the season’s first two weeks.

“We’ve been using a different formation this year than we’ve used in the past couple of years (and there are 11 new players on the varsity team), so it’s not a surprise that it’s taking some time for the team to sort out what are the responsibilities of each player,” said Lenicheck. “I think that things are coming together fairly well so far, and we’re looking forward to games next week.

The Highlanders returned to action against Watertown on Monday at home before traveling to Cambridge on Wednesday and hosting Everett on Friday.