Warriors handling business vs. big schools
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HOWLAND -- Pressure, pressure and more pressure.
That’s what the West Branch girls soccer team brought to Howland on Wednesday night when it faced the Tigers on the road.
The Warriors grabbed the lead, kept possession of the ball most of the match and provided Howland with minimal scoring chances, leading to a 3-0 win.
"Very pleased with the girls' effort today," West Branch head coach Zach Dean said. "They did a nice job of finding ways to put the ball in the back of the net, giving us that lead at halftime and just keeping that pressure for the full 80 minutes."
The first 20 minutes were mostly confined to the midfield, but the Warriors opened the scoring with 18:57 to play before halftime. Elli Colian got behind the defense and scored the first goal of the game. Fifty seconds later, Hensley Biery found the back of the net to increase West Branch’s lead to 2-0.
From that point, the Warriors (4-0) got aggressive offensively. They hemmed the Tigers in their own third of the field, and Howland never created any high-danger scoring chances for the rest of the half.
Emma Klingensmith nearly had another goal for the Warriors, but her attempt from roughly 25 yards out hit the bottom half of the crossbar and bounced back into the field of play.
The Warriors pushed their lead to 3-0 when Colian scored her second goal of the night 13 minutes into the second half. Colian fired a shot from 20 yards away and Howland goalkeeper Kaiden Fox got part of the ball, but it still found the top of the net for a score.
Even when Howland (2-2) created scoring opportunities in the second half, West Branch’s back line recovered quickly. The Warriors would either clear the ball or generate a turnover to minimize stress on goalie Audrey Eaton.
Outside of a couple moments in the second half, it was a very calm night for Eaton.
"I want to give our defensive line some credit," Dean said. "We graduated three players from there. Some players moved there from different spots, and they've thrived there for us. I really am pleased with their effort and how they've come together as a unit back there."
The Warriors added some tougher tests to their schedule, with the likes of Austintown Fitch, Boardman and Cardinal Mooney peppered throughout. The goal was to make sure the team was ready after getting eliminated in the district round last year.
West Branch is still undefeated and has outscored Boardman, Fitch, Hubbard and Howland 19-1. So far, it's passing the test.
"We just take one game at a time," Dean said.