In contrast to their Titan nickname, a short-handed IMSA squad was at a titantic disadvantage for Wednesday’s non-conference visit to Oswego East as the host Wolves cruised to a 11-0 triumph.
Just 7:18 into the contest, Jasmine Ruiz earned the first of a trio of assists with a cross that enabled Taylor Peck to park a nine-yarder from the left side.
“Once the ball got through from Jasmine I was able to see an opening, got past a defender for a wide-open net and just focused on getting a solid touch,” Peck said of her fifth goal of the year. “It’s always a plus to score early and get the other team thinking they have to come from behind.”
That became even more obvious just a over a minute later when Maddy Lambert set up Alexe Anderson for another left side strike. Safia Hannin chalked up four goals by intermission in order to take over the team lead in goals scored (seven), just ahead of Peck (six), who found the net a second time.
In addition to her trio of assists, Ruiz capped the opening half scoring with a one-touch volley off a corner kick by Rene Niessner 1:33 prior to intermission.
“We’ve worked a lot on corners and plays off corners, so it’s great to see a teammate get on the end of one,” Niessner said. “It was also important that we kept working hard.”
The 8-0 halftime tally meant the second half was reduced to 20 minutes.
“We also worked on not just going straight down the line with our attack and it was good to see us work combinations. We can still use some work on our patience,” Wolves coach Hayley Morganegg said after East was ruled offside 10 times in the match. “We’re pretty young (with six freshman starters) and that means we’ve had our ups and downs as well, learning what pressure is, managing the clock, passing to feet, basically maturing as soccer players.”
Second-half scores from Jodie Makara, Lambert, and Abigail Glascow scored in the second half, while Rachel Miertz also had a two-assist performance for East. (3-7)
Despite the uphill battle, IMSA (2-6) showed some offensive life after halftime being whistled offside and forcing Wolves keeper Bridget Moran to rush out for a clearance to earn her second shutout of the year.
“We’ve got a totally new team this year with varying degrees of soccer knowledge, so I’m always proud of our effort,” IMSA coach Sal Tamayo said. “Obviously [goalie] Faithe [Hill] was very busy and showed she’s not afraid of any shot. I also thought Addison (Schwaller) was a solid defender, running all over the field all game long.”
