Norwayne defense shines early on, key to rise in rankings with their play among the best

Through first couple weeks of the girls' soccer season, there have been some surprises and some things to scratch the head over.

One of those, the play of the Norwayne defense, mainly the backline and goalkeeper Morgan Hamby.

In a year, where the Bobcats were supposed to be "rebuilding," it looks more like a re-tooling type job instead. Last year, Norwayne had the luxury of one of the state's best strikers in Shelby Vaughn, who is now at Michigan State University.

This year, they don't have that instant offense, that guaranteed slash and gash type attack, instead, they are relying on defense.

That defense is a backline of Brooke Mullins, Molly Gasser, Maddy Kate Wolf and Carrie Graham. If you're lucky to slip past them, there is the ever-talented Hamby, who showed her mettle and had a coming out party against Chippewa this past Saturday.

"The key to us working together comes from our communication and ability to adapt," said Mullins. "We all have been working on our shifting, communication and it has really been showing.

"Our defense has come a long way in just a few games. We all adapt to each other and help each other out."

The group opened with a 1-0 win over Triway, dropped a 2-0 tilt to Buckeye before their epic clash with rival, Chippewa. In this battle, they took nearly everything that the Chipps dished out from a 7-0 disparity in corner kicks and a 37-2 disadvantage in shots. If someone had been tracking possession, it's safe to say the Bobcats were on defense for probably at least 92 to 93-pecent of the game.

Many times, this group of defenders found themselves under pressure and attacked from multiple angles in what could be termed pin ball on the soccer pitch. Yet each time, they stayed calm, showed their resilience and simply cleared out the threat and at times successfully, put their team on the offense in transition.

"I am proud of us as a team for the effort we put in," said Mullins. "We didn't give up and we adapted to their game. We knew coming in that Chippewa was going to be hard to beat and we stayed with them every minute."

As for what made that possible.

"Our hours of dedication at practice really showed that day," she added. "We are a different team from where we started to where we are now, and I couldn't be prouder of us. We all could feel the intensity before the game even started and we all knew the intensity is always huge going into every Chippewa game."

More importantly for the senior, it's about being able to build from battles like this and learning, something she feels this unit does very well. With a slate of games upcoming against top programs like Smithville, Waynedale, Hiland and a rematch with the Chipps, until their offense can settle in, the defense will be heart and soul moving forward.

"I am really impressed for how far we have come; we are close unit and Morgan (Hamby) also talks to us and it really helps us out," Mullins said. "Our team has grown a ton in just a short number of games, we don't give up and I could see how we grew as a team, and I can't wait to see how we grow moving forward."

Updated Girls Soccer Power Rankings:

1. Chippewa (4-0) - The area's best team continues to find their footing as they finally got to practice on their home turf this past Monday before turning and beating Waynedale 4-0. Even still, the Chipps defense still has yet to give up a goal this year as they outscored opponents 23-0.
2. Smithville (3-0-1) - An early 1-0 win over Waynedale saw Smithville take round one in this battle of league contenders. They then turned around and survived a scare from another fellow WCAL member, Northwestern 2-1. The Smithies will get their first shot at the no. 1 team in the rankings and league favorite, Chippewa next Thursday.
3. Norwayne (2-2) - Buoyed by a strong defensive unit, Norwayne climbs into the top-5 for the first time this year after its impressive showing against Chippewa. Names like Mullins, Gasser, MKW, Graham and Hamby are central to why the Bobcats have risen in the ranks. This core group will give them a fighting chance each night they touch the pitch.
4. Waynedale (2-3) - Some tough matchups to start the year for the Golden Bears as they faced some of the area's best in Smithville, Hiland and Chippewa early on. They went 0-3 in those matchups, but still possess some pretty punch and potential with Nayeli Cruz and Cinthia Reyes.
5. West Holmes (2-0-1) - A quick start saw the Knights beat Minerva and Ohio Cardinal Conference rival Mansfield before tying Tri-Valley. The Knights have their eyes set on next Thursday when they play conference rival Wooster, a team, they haven't beaten since at least 2007 with just two ties (2013, 2016) in that stretch.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Norwayne defense shines early on, key to rise in rankings with their play among the best