Both the Wolverines and Bombers Girls soccer teams are playing very good soccer as they approach the end of the regular season and gear up for the playoffs.
Match photos click here.
Both the Wolverines and Bombers Girls soccer teams are playing very good soccer as they approach the end of the regular season and gear up for the playoffs.
Thus, facing each other on Sept. 27 at Bombers Stadium in a non-conference matchup was an excellent way to prepare for post-season soccer.
Coming into the contest, the CVC Valley Division leading Wolverines had compiled a 10-3 record which included winning streaks of six games and three games. Most recently, the Wolverines defeated the Kirtland Hornets (6-0) on Sept. 22 and the Hawken Hawks (3-0) on Sept. 25.
On Sept. 13, the Bombers defeated the highly ranked NDCL Lions, 2-1. They then followed up their win over the Lions with a dominant 11-0 victory over Riverside on Sept. 16.
However, in their next game, the Bombers lost to the Mayfield Wildcats, 3-0, on Sept. 22.
Having lost to the Wildcats earlier in the week, freshman forward Lexie Jakacki said that the Bombers were motivated to bounce back and get a victory over the Wolverines.
“We wanted to win this game after a hard loss (against the Wildcats),” said Lexie Jakacki. “We just thought today would be the day. We came in strong (with lots of) positivity. We just knew we were going to win.”
This confidence and belief helped the Bombers stay positive as they battled in playoff-like conditions to earn a hard fought 2-1 victory over the Wolverines.
Sophomore Lila Fink, who had the game winning goal late in the game, said that the Bombers came into the match focused on the things they needed to do to achieve victory. They concentrated their efforts into gaining possession of free balls and staying mentally tough throughout the contest.
“We wanted to make sure we were winning every ball, (and) we were playing tough,” Fink said. “That’s what we needed to do to beat this team because they have a lot of good players.”
Additionally, in gaining the victory, Bombers Head Coach Eric Sway said that his team did a great job of effectively communicating on the field.
In addition to their high level effort, mental toughness, and excellent communication, Coach Sway said that a main coaching point he emphasized at halftime was for his team to take shots from outside the box.
Also, the Bombers coaching staff made a key halftime decision which helped increase the Bombers second half offensive production.
Subsequent to intermission, the Bombers moved Lexie Jakacki to the forward position in order to utilize her quickness and speed in the offensive third of the pitch, Coach Sway explained.
“Going into the second half we moved Lexie Jakacki up to forward to utilize her speed up top with Reese (Cochran), because Lexie was playing in the midfield,” said Coach Sway. “Something a little different, and it worked.”
Not only did Lexie Jakacki break the scoreless tie as she found the back of the net with 30:09 left in the game, Coach Sway said that she put a lot of pressure on the Wolverines defense for the rest of the game.
Coach Sway said that on the play in which Jakacki broke the tie, it was a team effort in which Abbie Fink provided an excellent assist.
“It came through Abbie Fink,” Coach Sway said. “She put a great ball out in space. About a 20 yard through ball. Lexie beat the left back and she had a great shot. The goalie made a good initial save. Another thing we’ve been harping on is following up shots. And Lexie followed up the shot and put it right in.”
With the Bombers up 1-0 with almost 30 minutes left to go in the contest, the Wolverines were determined to get an equalizer goal.
Junior Faelynn Beckrest, with 14:44 left in the game, got the Wolverines the equalizer goal they were looking for as she tied the game at 1-1.
Coach Sway then made another key lineup change as he brought sophomore Lila Fink into the game.
This lineup change led to the Bombers executing a key strategy that the coaching staff identified at halftime, taking shots from outside the box.
With 5:30 left in the contest, Lila Fink took a shot from outside the box and found the back of the net, to get the game winning goal.
“Their defense tried to clear it, it rolled out to about the 25 or 30 yard line and she just ran up and just banged it in. Perfect shot, dead center (of the goal) right over the goalie’s head.”
In goal for the Bombers, senior goalie Grace Gettig had an excellent game, saving 10 shots on goal.
For the season leading the Bombers offensively has been Reese Cochran (20 points – 9 goals, 2 assists), Lexie Jakacki (12 points – 3 goals, 6 assists), Olivia Muzzio (12 points – 5 goals, 2 assists), Keira Walz (9 points – 4 goals, 1 assist) and Lila Fink (5 points – 2 goals, 1 assist).
In their 6-0 victory over the Hornets on September 22nd, the Wolverines were led offensively by Adison Cook (2 goals, 2 assists), Ava Borz (2 goals), Lexi Bryan (1 goal), Brooklyn Osolin (2 assists), Amelia Zaffiro (1 goal).
In the 3-0 victory over the Hawks on September 25th, the Wolverines were led by Beckrest (1 goal, 2 assists), Cook (1 goal, 1 assist) and Osolin (1 goal).
