Avon Lake vs. Elyria on 10/14/13

SHOREGALS EARN PLAYOFF VICTORY!!

Even though it was the 17th game of the season, it was still a night of firsts for the Shoregal soccer team.  Kayla Kress scored her first goal of the season after missing most of the year with injuries, Ali Robinson and Kellie Norris got their first assists of the season, Amy Crooks got her first playoff shutout and win, and most importantly Avon Lake won its first playoff game in 4 years by a final of 2-0 over Elyria.  

Coincidently, the Shoregals last playoff win was also against Elyria back in 2009 by a score of 6-0 which was the last time these two teams met.

It was a classic playoff matchup where it is “win or go home” and teams employ specific strategies to beat an opponent that you will not see during the regular season.  Such was the case with Elyria who used five and sometimes six girls in a flat row on their back line to create what is known as an offside trap to prevent Avon Lake from being able to set up for shots close to the goal.  It is a very effective strategy when run properly and for a while it did work against the Shoregals as they were whistled for 9 offside penalties during the match. 

Although Avon Lake was struggling with the offside trap, they still managed to dominate the game offensively with 22 shots on goal to only 4 for Elyria and 7 corner kicks to only one for Elyria.  

The Shoregals finally broke through the trap with 14 minutes remaining in the first half as senior Kayla Kress, back to the goal, took a crossing pass from freshman Kellie Norris and flicked it with the outside of her foot towards the Elyria goal.  The ball took an unusual hop and bounced by the Elyria goalie for what would turn out to be the game winning goal. Avon Lake carried the 1-0 lead into halftime. 

In second half, the Pioneers became more aggressive as they were searching for the game tying goal.  Just a few minutes into the second half, Elyria sent a crossing pass that traveled across the mouth of the AL goal just out of reach of the feet of several Pioneer players for one of their best scoring opportunities on the evening. 

The Shoregals put the game out of reach with 26 minutes left as freshman Olivia Siko took a pass on the right side of the field from senior Ali Robinson and moved through several Elyria defenders to send a shot just inside the far left post to give AL a two goal advantage.  From there, the Shoregal defense took over to cement the final score of 2-0.

It was a total team effort for the Shoregals as 19 girls contributed to the victory.  The 22 Shots on Goal barrage was led by Olivia Siko with 6; Ali Robinson with 4; Emily Peepers with 3; Molly Maloney, Kayla Kress, & Bri Carlin with 2 each; and Karen Krause, Lauren Anthony, & Lindsay Butler chipped in with one each. 

The defense was anchored by starters Emily Peterson, Rada Zunich, Kellie Norris, and Maggie Moore supported by subs Esther Killius, Natalie Quintero, and Mae Quinn.

In goal for the Shoregals was senior Amy Crooks who made 4 saves on the night for her 3rd shutout of the season.  For Elyria, senior goalie Jessica Gogan was kept busy on the night as she made 20 saves to keep the game close. 

With the win, Avon Lake moves on to play Magnificat in a Sectional final.  The game will be played on Thursday 10/17 at 8:30 pm at Rocky River High School.  Elyria finishes their season at 6-11-0.