Lady Hawks soccer team roars out of the gate with shutout game

  • By Dave Mast
  • August 24, 2010
  • 281
                        
A new day has dawned for the Hiland Lady Hawks’ soccer program. Now, it’s up to head coach Pat Miller to keep his girls’ feet firmly planted on the ground. Hiland got an early goal from senior Braylee Miller in its season opener against Loudonville, then continued a game-long assault on goal, producing a 7-0 win in a game which looked like Pat Miller’s program has finally arrived. Miller took over the fledgling program six years ago, and this senior and junior group is the byproduct of his coaching and philosophy. They have suffered their fair share of setbacks, bumps and bruising defeats over the past several years as the players have learned the game. If Tuesday night’s game is any indication, the players have grasped the nuances of the game, and their time finally may have arrived. “I’m very pleased on both sides of the ball,” said Miller. “This is the first year in which we actually have a number of kids that can finish strong on offense and put the ball in the goal. We’re now able to get inside and get off quality shots by moving the ball well and creating shots off of passes and plays.” The first came six minutes into the contest when Braylee Miller got loose and ripped a shot past the Redbirds goalie. It took 25 minutes top score again, but when Emily Beechy found Josie Beachy open for the score, the romp was on. One minute later, Irelie Riggle fed Miller again for a 3-0 lead, which the Lady Hawks took into the half. Two minutes into the second half, Riggle took a Hannah Stoneman pass and zipped around three defenders before beating the goalie to make it 4-0. McKenzie Mast then found Virginia Keim to make it 5-0 in the 54th minute, and six minutes later, Beachy got an assist from Stoneman to make it 6-0. Mast scored the final goal, drilling home a shot well past the 18 off an assist from Riggle. While the offense was clicking on all cylinders, the defense was not allowing the Redbirds to get off anything good in the shot department, and when Loudonville did take a decent shot, junior goalie Julie Raber was rock-solid in the net, stopping everything. “I’m thrilled for Julie,” said Miller. “She has worked extremely hard this off-season, and to be rewarded like this tonight is special. I think she is going to get better and better in there, because she is smart and aggressive.” Miller also had high praise for the entire defense, noting that Ashley Weaver played a particularly strong game, playing all 80 minutes. “It’s easy to get caught up in all the goals, but defensively, I thought we played extremely well,” said Miller. “That often gets pushed aside when there are a lot of goals, but the girls did an incredible job defending a team that really tried to push up on offense.” The impressive win thrilled Miller and the girls, who seem to have a real sense that they could be at the start of something very special in turning the program around. But Miller said that he warned the girls following the contest that, while it was a thrill to win big, they needed to remain focused on the overall picture, not just one victory. “This is a start,” said Miller. “We can’t get caught up in all the hoopla of one win. We need to remember what being on the other side of this was like, and stay hungry, and stay focused on getting better. We played well and I’m very happy with our progress, but we can get better. Our goal isn’t to be playing our best in game one, but to be playing our best going into the tournaments.” If there is any concern over the program peaking, the JV team put that notion to rest with an 8-0 victory to match the varsity team’s shutout. In the contest, Kaitlyn Raber and Allison Thiebaud each scored twice, while Jalayna Hershberger added a score and two assists.


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