The MCHS Lady Aces soccer team kicked off their season with a 7-0 win over visiting Harrisburg. Maya Smith scored the opening goal in the 1st minute off an assist from Flynn Guard and a key pass from Rylie Webb. Smith scored again unassisted in the 14th minute. Webb scored 10 minutes later on an assist from Smith, giving the Lady Aces the 3-0 lead at the half. The Lady Aces continued their dominant play in the 2nd half, with Webb scoring in the 42nd minute, assisted by McKenna Golden. Smith got herself a hat trick a few minutes later, scoring her 3rd goal on an assist from Webb with Makayla Beesley providing a key pass. Chandler Cusick scored in the 53rd minute on an assist from Webb, followed 3 minutes later by Webb getting a hat trick of her own on an unassisted goal for the 7-0 final score. The Lady Aces took 18 shots, 14 on frame, created 11 additional scoring chances and had 4 interceptions. Rilee Riggs and Katelyn Kline combined in goal for the shutout, with each getting 1 save. The Lady Bulldogs took 4 shots, 2 on frame.
We have a lot of players who either haven't played soccer before at all or haven't played since they were little, so we were curious to see how we'd look in our first match, especially against an opponent who has beaten up on us the last few years. Thankfully we've got a core of older players that we can rely on and who've been good with helping out the more inexperienced players. Speaking of those newer players, they all performed really well in this one. We've still got a lot to work on, but they showed that they're picking up some of the things we've done in practice, and if they continue growing we can hopefully improve as the season goes on. Getting that first game action in is a big step for them that can't be fully replicated in practice. We're without starting senior goalie Allison Thread, so this was a good way to get those 1st game butterflies out of the way for Kline and Riggs. Our defense did a great job of denying Harrisburg many opportunities, so our new goalies were able to get a little experience without being under constant pressure. Our next match likely won't go that way, so this was a good stepping stone for them. Offensively, we're still working on our ball skills and passing ability/accuracy but our girls came up with some good ideas out there with the ball at their feet and we were aggressive in getting to goal which was great to see with so many inexperienced players out there.
The Lady Aces next host the Marion Lady Wildcats on Thursday April 29th at 5:00 pm at the WVC field. Marion has a very good team, dominating their first 3 opponents by a collective score of 22-0, so this will be a good learning experience for our girls.