WHITEHOUSE – Sometimes all you need is one extra goal to pull out a victory.
Host Anthony Wayne led 2-0 on Saturday afternoon against visiting Ottawa Glandorf and survived a late run by the Titans to open the 2024 campaign with a 2-1 victory.
“We look forward to this matchup every year. We always appreciate teams like OG who are fast, physical, and look to play great soccer” opined Generals coach Lori Williams.
Locked in a defensive field position battle through much of the first half, the two squads found tough sledding in the shot department early on.
Seeking the first goal of the afternoon the hosts found themselves with the biggest opportunity of the match at 12:30 after an Ottawa Glandorf foul awarded the Generals a penalty kick.
Senior Bree Moser connected on her left footed low line drive against Titan keeper Karsyn Erford to put Anthony Wayne ahead 1-0.
PK goal by Bree Moser gives Anthony Wayne a 1-0 lead with 12:30 left in first half pic.twitter.com/1qZd8TG8IQ
— Michael Hirn (@MichaelHirnPBP) August 17, 2024
“We had long stretches where we were stuck defending in our own end but we had glimpses where we showed promise during the game” said Ottawa Glandorf head coach Michelle Maag.
Early in the second half the Generals pushed out to a 2-0 advantage with 31:50 on a mad scramble in front of the Titan net. Junior Lila Simon, a first team NLL selection a year ago sliced a shot through a screened Erford for her first score of the season.
“I thought the game was fast and both teams seemed to have a bit of the first game nerves, but settled in as the game progressed” remarked Williams.
Trailing by two goals for just the second time in their last 10 games played dating back to last season, the Titans continued to fight and search for a goal of their own to cut into the lead.
Ottawa Glandorf found their only marker of the game with 8:44 remaining thanks to a heads up play by junior Liv Grothause. Grothause, a midfielder who scored three times during the 2023 run to state won a foot race with Anthony Wayne keeper Addie Beil before curving a shot through the pipes.
“A bright spot today was Liv (Grothause) winning a great hustle play to score our first goal of the season” said Maag after the loss.
Anthony Wayne’s duo of Addie Beil and Kaity Carr turned away five shots on goal while their counterpart Karsyn Erford stopped eight attempts by the Generals.
“Karsyn made some big saves in net” opined Maag. “As we move forward we will look to be better in our defensive organization to break up the opponent possessions as well as winning more 50/50 plays. We’ve got a lot of work to do this season but have shown the potential to get there, so I am excited for what’s to come”.
Up next for the Generals is a Wednesday night showdown in Perrysburg against the rival Yellow Jackets. OG returns to action on Wednesday as well when they play host to Route 224 rival Findlay.
Scoring:
12:30 – Bree Moser (AW) – Penalty Kick
31:50 – Lila Simon (AW)
8:44 – Liv Grothause (OG)
Shots:
AW – 10
OG- 6
Saves:
8 – Karsyn Erford (OG)
5 – Addie Beil/Kaity Carr (AW)