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WORTHINGTON -- The Worthington Trojans girls soccer team is putting a lot of emphasis on scoring more goals this season. But now, after the team’s third game, the Trojans have yet to put the ball in the net.
On Tuesday at Trojan Field, WHS moved to 0-2-1 on the season with a 6-0 loss to a very good St. Peter team, now 3-0 on a season in which they haven’t yet allowed a goal. The Saints were so good on defense on Tuesday, in fact, that Worthington was unable to attempt any shots on goal.
So in the post-game meeting with her team, first-year head coach Anne Greenway told her girls that in practice on Wednesday, they’re going to work diligently on connecting their shots. It will be a “two-touch” practice, she said, meaning that the players will be allowed one touch to control the ball and a second touch to pass. It forces them to move and helps them connect, Greenway said.
That’s the goal, at least. On Tuesday, St. Peter scored all six of its goals in the first half and used the second half to see how many times they could connect their passes. Placing themselves around the field in a well-orchestrated manner, they essentially held a practice session of their own, testing themselves on how many times they could successfully make their passes to teammates.
After three games and with no goals yet, Greenway knows more offensive work is needed for the Trojans.
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“We definitely need more control with the ball,” she said.
But better times are coming, she added.
“We’re at a point in the season when we’ve kind of settled in positions,” Greenway explained. “So now that we’ve settled into positions, we can really start feeling the game with those players.”
In the first half on Tuesday, Worthington started well defensively. In the first seven minutes, eighth-grade goalkeeper Maylin Fabian Perez made three nifty saves.
But with 30:22 showing on the game clock, St. Peter scored its first point on a shot by senior forward Grace Diouhy, who made a nice sidestep directly in front of the Worthington goal and finished just as nicely. Three minutes later the Saints caught a break when a floating shot missed but was accidentally deflected into the goal by a Worthington player.
Starting at the 20:21 mark and ending at 18:39, St. Peter added three more goals to make it 5-0. Then at 9:02 sophomore defender Paige Winkelman scored goal No. 6 from about 15 yards away in the upper left corner of the net.
Worthington had no shot attempts in the first half and rarely had possession of the ball on St. Peter’s side of the field.
Although the second half didn’t produce any shot attempts, Greenway said she could see some potential on offense in the way the Trojans kept fighting. The potential could be seen in the few times WHS had touches on the Saints’ side.
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St. Peter 6 0 -- 6
Worthington 0 0 -- 0
