Zito gave Township (2-0 overall, 1-0 conference) a 1-0 lead with 21 minutes remaining in the second half on a penalty stroke. The righthanded junior lined up, slapped the ball to the left of West (0-1) goalkeeper Katharyn Lass, and the ball hit the backboard with a thud, putting an exclamation point on the score.
"That was my first penalty stroke [ever]," said Zito, who became a varsity starter last season. "I stayed strong and tried my best."
The first goal in any game is important because of the confidence it instills in a team, especially one that needs a leader. And the significance of that shot was evident in the way Township coach Kacey Ehret embraced it.
"I think it was really important for her to step up to a leadership position, and I think it showed, in her first goal, that no one else on the team could have done that," Ehert said. "They don't know what a stroke is, and I had confidence that she did, so that's important."
Zito expanded Township's lead to 2-0 when she scored in a scrum in front of the cage 10 minutes later.
Sophomore forward-midfielder Tiffany Gilkas gave Township a 3-0 lead with eight minutes left, before West's playmaker, Toni D'Amato, scored with 6 minutes, 37 seconds remaining for a 3-1 score that held.
When asked why a team that had gone 0-15 last season suddenly was on the winning track, Zito praised the coaching staff and talked about her own efforts to improve.
A lacrosse player in the spring, Zito said she worked on her field hockey stickwork and speed in the offseason, running distances and sprints with her teammates.
Still, she doesn't play club ball, which would make her even better, Ehert said.
"Miranda is dynamic, she has speed, she has confidence, she communicates with her teammates, she's a leader, she is basically an all-around player," Ehert said.
A midfielder since seventh grade, Zito said she will decide whether or not to play club ball and which sport she'll play in college at the end of the season. But right now, she's happy with the way things are on a team that has sprinted to a 2-0 start.
"We work hard as a team and stay together," Zito said. "The skill level is getting better, and a good change in the coaching has turned us around from last year."
Township junior midfielder Carolyn Son put it all into perspective when she spoke about what Zito means to the team.
"I definitely think that she loves the sport and has the biggest passion for it and it is definitely [contagious]. She spreads her energy and love for the sport to us. . . . It makes us work just as hard as she does."
Contact staff writer Bill Iezzi at 856-779-3826, biezzi@phillynews.com, or @iezziw on Twitter.
