Pembroke High girls soccer celebrated two firsts in Tuesday's win over North Quincy

NORTH QUINCY — It’s never easy winning games as a young program with a new coach.

But the Pembroke High girls soccer team is taking things one step at a time.

The first-year head coach Dana Powers was stoked after his Titans beat the North Quincy, 3-2, in a thriller on Tuesday.

“It’s our first win of the season,” said Powers. “Anytime you can get a win on the road, especially in the patriot league, you got to be happy about it and take it.”

More: HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP: Marshfield boys soccer rallies to tie Hingham on road

The Titans trailed 2-1 in the second half before goals from senior Emma Cranston, who finished with three points (two goals, assist) and sophomore Ally Johnson helped get the win.

Cranston, the center forward, put the first points up on the board with a penalty kick early in the game. She  added the tying score later.

“Pretty good dub. It was pretty iffy when we were down one, but it felt good to get the dub after that,” said Cranston. “I think there was a lot of urgency, and we just wanted to work together and put effort to not have another loss on the season.”

More: Opening-night stars: Vote for the High School Offensive Football Player of the Week

As a senior, Cranston knows how important leadership is for the younger players.

“I think it’s pretty important to lead the team and make big steps for the sophomores who are watching me and have a good program,” said Cranston.

Some of the those sophomores being Sadie Nugent, Dakota Hebert, Maggie MacDonald, and Sophia Urquizo

“There’s definitely things we need to work on, but I think we showed a lot of resolve when we went down 1-2 and fought back to get the next two and seal it off,” said Powers.

The Titans, now sit at 1-1-1, have much to work on, but with the right balance of seniors and sophomores starting—Powers is confident. He said the environment has switched since putting younger players in.

“It’s really fun. I think it creates a fun environment,” said Powers. “They deserve to be out here. They played consistent and played hard. We’re very fortunate to have good captains and leaders who are always looking out for them so it’s been very positive for them.”

With just 14 minutes left in the game and the score tied, a timeout was called. That’s where Powers made adjustments to shift the momentum of the match.

More: Two return TDs in one half: Vote for the High School Football D/ST Player of the Week

“We switched the formation a little bit so we can mark up with their midfield a little bit, " said Powers, "make sure we’re really compact.”

"It’s just about knowing the situation where the next 14 minutes can go the way we want or the way they want, but somebody was going to finish this game. They were super organized and they listened to what I said in the timeout.”

Johnson, scored the winning goal for the Titans with five minutes left to play,but that’s not the only thing that made it special.

“That was my first varsity goal so it’s kind’ve enjoyable,” said Johnson who plays center forward. “It feels great. We’re a newer program with a new coach and new team, and newer players so I think it was a good game.”

As Johnson develops into a better player, she said it’s been the seniors who’ve played a big part in that.

“They helped me so much,” said Johnson. “They’ve helped with how to be good with possession and they're just good leaders on and off the field.”

Some of the seniors on the Titans are Nicole Balkam at goalkeeper, Kara Morgan, Alexa Rinehart, Mia Pulselli, Avery Rappaport, Keelin Toler, Allie Hogan, and Savannah Searfoss.

It’s only the beginning of the season and with a small program, endurance will be key for the Titans in a loaded Patriot League.

“We’re not a deep program. We have like 32 girls in our entire program so the balance of finding the mix between training with the intensity we need to while also taking care of our bodies,” said Powers.

He continued, “Tomorrow we’ll look at some film, get some rest, then get ready for a tough one in Duxbury on Thursday.”

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Powers gets first win, Johnson nets first goal as Pembroke wins