Sacred Heart girls soccer blanks Stover 7-0

The Sacred Heart (9-6-1) girls soccer team’s defense was solid and the offense exploited the holes in Stover’s (0-14) defense as they scored goal after goal in the second half on their way to a 7-0 win.

“We had to attack them with the dribble,” Sacred Heart coach Carlos McField said. “We would just pass, pass, pass not looking to score as much as we should have and we changed that in the second half.”

The only goal of the first half came when Devin Wadley dribbled the ball up the middle of the field and then passed the ball to Claire Fischer on the right. Fisher trapped the ball and sent it into the goal to give the Lady Gremlins a 1-0 lead.

Sacred Heart needed only the one first-half goal to win the game, but netted numerous oppurtinities in the second half to secure the win.

Sacred Heart’s Courtney Hopper began the second half scoring with an assist as she dribbled through the middle of the field from deep in Gremlin territory before dumping off a pass to Rachel Fritz, who scored when the ball traveled between the legs of Stover’s goalie, Laura Marriott, to give the Lady Gremlins a 2-0 lead.

On a corner kick from the Lady Gremlins’ Justine Dover, the ball was cleared by Stover’s defense, but not far enough. SHHS’s Erika Beykirch stopped the ball at the top of the goalie box then sent a shot to the left side of the goal, giving the Lady Gremlins a 3-0 lead.

The Lady Gremlins’ fourth goal came as Dover crossed a free kick from the far right side of the field into the left side of the goal, just out of the reach of Marriott’s fingertips.

“The girls try, but this is only their third year (as a team) and most of the teams they play have been together since grade school,” Stover coach Lon Larson said. “It’s just a matter of lack of experience and knowing the game.”

The Lady Bulldogs’ defensive line again stumbled trying to clear a ball from their goalie box. After stopping a long pass from Sacred Heart, the Stover defense failed to get rid of the ball fast enough. A charging Beykirch lofted a shot into the top of the goal, putting Sacred Heart ahead by five.

Not long after, Stover’s defense tried to clear the ball again, and again the Lady Gremlins capitalized on their error. The Lady Bulldogs’ defense cleared the ball to the midfield right, but it landed right at the feet of Fritz. Fritz wasted no time in sending a shot straight into the goal, extending Sacred Heart’s lead to 6-0.

McField said, “I thought Rachel Fritz and the entire back four played well. Other than that, it was businesslike for everyone else.”

The last goal of the game came when the Lady Gremlins’ Johannah Hohne set up Wadley, whose shot find an open left side of the goal.

Stover’s Marriott had 20 saves during the night, while Sacred Heart’s goalie Kelli Lamb needed to make only had one save to secure the win.