WOOSTER TWP. — Up and coming Triway made it clear, they will be a team to be reckoned with this year as it opened up its 2024 slate of girls soccer. The Titans had their chances and made it close at times, but in the end, new-look Norwayne made a Courtney Cline goal standup for a 1-0 win on Saturday afternoon.
"Triway is very organized, they counterattack really well, and they have a lot of speed." said Bobcat skipper Jason Zimmerly. "They took advantage of our mistakes today, they knew exactly where they needed to be, played hard, were aggressive and that's a Tyrone (Hostetler) team right there. He knows how to counterattack, and they did that really well."
The back line of Brooke Mullins, Molly Gasser, Maddy Kate Wolf and Carrie Graham were key for the Bobcats as they thwarted many Titan charges. Early on it was their ability to limit the Triway attack to one and out or force a turnover before it developed into a dangerous situation. They also were quick to get the ball back into transition and in the second when things got dicey, they simply stood strong and held the line.
"Our defense played really well today," said Zimmerly. "Carrie (Graham) and Molly (Gasser) shut down the middle, and MKW and Brooke, they shifted really well on the outside and really they all did a tremendous job."
Norwayne finished with 14-8 advantage in shots and a 5-4 edge in shots on the frame as goalkeeper Morgan Hamby finished with four saves, two in each half, to secure the clean sheet.
The defenses' ability to keep the ball moving and getting the ball in transition, proved to be vital in helping secure the game's only goal. Moving quickly up the pitch late in the first half, Cline beat Titan goalkeeper Addison Gentry at the top of the box and emptied into the empty net with 10:52 left before half.
That would prove to be only time Norwayne got the best of the active Triway keeper as Gentry was lights out. Even on the scoring play, Gentry made the daring, smart move to close the angle on Cline, but just couldn't secure the ball on the slide. She finished with four saves on the day but made countless fantastic plays preventing potential shots on the frame by clearing traffic around the box.
Offensively, Kylee Strong was dynamite as she leveled a shot on the frame at 31:03 mark and at 28-minute mark in the second half, just missed wide. Julia Root uncorked a shot from the center of the box at the 23:03 mark in the second half, that Hamby reeled in. In the end, the Titans were able to generate and sustain things offensively in the second half, but just came up empty.
"We hold our shape way better and that's due to us being a year older and a year wiser," said Hostetler. "Helps when you have someone who is a dedicated goalkeeper. I was really happy to see us fighting back, created a lot of chances and in the second half, we made them adjust to us. In the past teams didn't have to do that, so that was great to see"
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: New-look Norwayne ekes out opening win over Triway in girls soccer
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