Saxony Lutheran girls soccer team strikes again

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The St. Vincent girls soccer team likes to play its defenders up and put pressure on the opposing midfield and defense.

That strategy played right into one of Saxony Lutheran's strengths.

The result was a relatively easy 5-0 win for visiting Saxony that allowed the Crusaders to stay unbeaten on the season Tuesday afternoon.

Freshman Brianna Mueller and sophomore Abby Hadler both scored twice, and Abby Goeckeler notched her seventh shutout of the season as Saxony improved to 7-0.

"I actually watched [St. Vincent] down at the Cape tournament and noticed that they play pretty high, so we tried to do our best to exploit it," Saxony coach Ryan Schweain said.

Saxony Lutheran’s Courtney Bergman kicks the ball away from St. Vincent’s Holly Cissell during the second half.

That they did. The Crusaders utilized their speed at forward to muster a number of breakaways in the first half, peppering St. Vincent goaltender Katie Mattingly with several shots from point-blank range. Saxony junior forward Maci Daniel had three consecutive breakaways up the middle, shooting wide the first time and having her next two shots turned away by Mattingly.

"Their goalie made some great saves, especially in the first half," Schweain said. "I thought she had a great game. She definitely kept them in it because we had a handful of breakaways that first half, and she made some nice saves."

Mattingly remained up to the task until the 22nd minute, when Saxony freshman Grace Mirly, bearing down on goal from the right side, crossed to fellow freshman Ashlynn Collier, who footed the ball into the far corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead.

Saxony kept the pressure on with freshman forward Tess Daniel deflecting a cross from fellow freshman Raegan Wieser just wide of the net. Then, with 13 minutes remaining until halftime, Hadler came onto a loose ball in front of the net and banged it into the corner to give the Crusaders a 2-0 lead entering intermission.

"We knew coming into the game they were going to be fast," St. Vincent coach Keith Volansky said. "We knew they liked to go down the middle. We kind of scared ourselves today, I think. We didn't play our game. It's kind of just as simple as that, really. We psyched ourselves out."

Said St. Vincent midfielder Holly Cissell, "They just passed a lot quicker than we did. We weren't on our toes at all. They just play a different game than what we are used to. It was kind of unexpected."

The Crusaders kept the pressure on in the second half, pushing its lead to 3-0 in the 49th minute. Mirly passed a ball wide to Maci Daniel on the right side, who crossed to Mueller in front. Mueller spun and found the upper right corner of the net from 15 yards out.

"I think we work really well together as a team," Mueller said. "And when we pass and make our runs, it clicks for us. We get past the defense, and we always push down the field as a team. It's never just one person by themselves.

"I thought once we got past the defenders, they weren't catching up to us. We just pushed."

St. Vincent (5-3) found some offensive continuity midway through the second half, though the Indians never seriously threatened Goeckeler, who was called on to make just two saves. And while not getting the breakaways that were so prevalent in the first half, Saxony was able to tack on two goals in the final three minutes of the game. Hadler made a long run downfield before being stymied by St. Vincent's Kayla Winkler at the left post. Hadler turned and found Mueller in front, who spun and pounded it into the goal at the 2:28 mark. A little over a minute later, Tess Daniel had a shot blocked by Mattingly, but the ball rolled to Hadler all alone in front for an easy goal.

"I think I was just in the right place at the right time," Hadler said. "They made some good passes."

While Schweain was happy with his squad's ability to take advantage of the first-half breakaways, he was equally pleased with how his offense controlled play in the second half.

"I felt with possession, we struggled the first half, and I thought St. Vincent did a good job of taking us out of that," he said. "They were closing the gaps and pretty much making us force the ball up a little too high and quicker than we want. The second half, I thought we did a lot better slowing it down and just moving the ball around a little bit better."