Following two early 10-0 Valley routs, the Bluejay girls soccer team turned it up another notch in last Tuesday’s 2-0 loss at Wausau West.
The field at the MARC was finally playable so Merrill could host a game on Monday, but Marshfield built a 5-0 halftime lead on the way to a 10-0 win.
The Bluejay defense limited West to just one goal per half.
“So (Tuesday) night went much better than previous nights; we played some great defense, our midfielders started some great offenses, and our forwards were getting the ball down the field,” MHS coach Steph Nelson. “Our only problem was we couldn’t get a shot on goal. We ended the game with only two shots total where West had 13.
“Taylor Hudzinski played a solid game with 11 saves.”
The Jays felt on some levels they had let a golden opportunity slip away, but they were glad to see progress.
“Overall I’m happy with how tonight went,” Nelson said. “Would I have liked a win? Absolutely, but they are already improving off of their previous game so if we keep this up we will get a win.
“It’s exciting to see them put together some of the things that Will (Bialecki) and I have been telling them to do, so it’ll be that much more exciting when we get a goal and/or a win.”
West’s Jessy Wiskofske netted a Christina Johnson assist in the 15th minute. Anna Brown scored an unassisted goal in the 48th minute before the Bluejay defense limited the quality shots.
Tiger paw
Marshfield showed power and control in Monday’s game, scoring at least four strong goals from 25 yards out.
The Tigers alternated shorter shots with long balls in the first half, scoring their third goal on a Darian Molter header in the 27th minute after a corner kick, and their fifth when Maddie Smith played a back-heel pass to herself before she turned on it from 15 yards in the 36th minute.
Molter finished with 3 goals, and Emily Goeppinger and Julia Urban each scored a pair. Urban’s score in the 76th minute of the 80-minute game ended it early. Walker Guzowski gave 3 assists, and Urban had 2.
“We almost made it the whole game,” Nelson said. “I really don’t think that how we played as a whole reflects the score. We had some very good moments, but then some let downs as well. As we talked after the game, the girls sounded defeated… I don’t like that.
“I’m here to try to change the direction of the program and I feel like I am failing. I knew things weren’t going to change overnight, but I did not expect three out of four Valley games to be mercy rulings. My biggest deal right now is I’m afraid that the girls aren’t having fun and appreciating the opportunity that they have to play the sport which a lot of people don’t have. We have another game tonight, which isn’t ideal, but Wednesday we’ll get some good work in and hopefully it’ll help us a little bit for yet another tough game against DCE.”
Merrill did generate some offense in the game.
“We had 3 shots on goal tonight; baby step? Absolutely, but it’s a step in the right direction,” Nelson said. “We can’t score goals unless we take the chances. Our opportunities are starting to come around, now we just need to capitalize on those chances. We just need to work on our first touch, so that when we get the ball up to the mids/forwards, we don’t lose the ball right away.”
Nelson also liked what she saw from her defense.
“Defensively we did some great things; did a great job shutting down the outsides of the field,” she said. “We struggled a lot in the middle today. Marshfield is a team who will take a shot if you give them more than a couple feet. So next time we play them (May 7??), we’re really going to focus on challenging in the middle of the field and shutting down any shot they want to take.
“Offensively, we’re just going to work on timing of our runs/sending balls, as well as our trapping, so that we can make more of these wonderful offenses that are being created.”