As the fourth seed in the Gold Division of the Easter Midlands Conference Tournament, the girls’ varsity soccer team will face an undefeated No. 1 seed tonight in the first round.
Sitting at 6-4 on the season, the Griffins will play the Blair Bears (9-0) at 7 p.m. in their second match-up of the season.
“I think tonight’s game is going to go a lot better than last time,” midfielder, senior Alexa Pine said. “We’ve made changes, so I think it’ll be better overall.”
Last week, the two teams went head-to-head in an away game, and while the girls kept things competitive through the first half, only allowing one goal before Blair pulled away in the second to win the game 4-0.
Since then, East responded with a 2-1 win over Elkorn North in a high-profile matchup. The girls were able to bounce back offensively while maintaining control defensively, showing improvement on both ends of the field following the loss to Blair.
“We didn’t let the loss shut us down; we came back the next day and showed exactly why people are watching,” goalkeeper, junior Allyson Jarosik said.
Meanwhile, Blair continued its undefeated run with a 1-0 overtime win over Bennington on April 16. The team has continued to be one of the most dominant attacking teams in the EMC, outscoring their opponents 59-1. With only three players responsible for 41 of those goals: sophomore Cadence Field, who has 20 goals and juniors Laynie Brown and Kaitlynn O’Neil, who have 11 and 10 goals, the Griffins will need to keep an eye on them.
“When we get our chances, we have to be efficient,” Hutchison said. “Composure in front of goal will be huge, and defensively we need strong positioning and communication to limit their chances.”
To prepare for tonight’s game, the Griffins have adjusted their game plan in hopes of a better outcome.
“We shuffled our formation a bit and moved players into different spots to match up better,” head coach Chace Hutchison said. “Looking back, the game was closer than the scoreline showed. We had our chances and gave them a few we’d like to have back.”
Statistically, the two programs arrive from two very different offensive and defensive profiles. East has scored 18 goals on the season while allowing 17, reflecting several competitive matchups.
“The games we’ve played reflect how competitive we’ve been,” Hutchison said. “We’ve had a lot of tight games, and we know we’re capable of being in those moments.”
Offensively, the Griffins are led by forward, freshman Maria Witt, who has scored six goals this season and remains the team’s leading scorer. Supporting the attack are players like senior defence Annabelle Naylor, a key contributor in creating scoring opportunities, and freshman defence Cali Clark, who has also found the back of the net this season.
“Maria brings a lot of energy, which has been a key part of our attack this season,” midfielder, senior Addy Morre said.
If the girls pull off the underdog win tonight, which they believe they can do, they will be back in action on Wednesday for the second round of EMC play.
“When we get our chances, we have to be efficient,” Hutchison said. “Composure in front of goal will be huge, and defensively we need strong positioning and communication to limit their chances.”
