×

Lady Knights blank Maplewood

GUYS MILLS, Pa. – Eisenhower opened its Region 3 schedule with a 4-0 shutout at Maplewood Monday.

The Lady Knights scored three times in the first half. They put the match away in the second and were able to show off the depth of this year’s squad.

“It was great to see the Knights continue to improve on their attacking game,” Eisenhower assistant coach Alex Johnson said. “We were able to utilize the entire bench thanks to the strong defensive leadership of Rachel Frederick and the continually improving defensive line that she commands.”

Eisenhower wasted little time getting the scoring going. Patricia Bortz buried a shot in the upper-right corner of the net just two minutes into the match.

Maplewood scored an own goal off an Ellie Strausser corner kick to make it 2-0. Four minutes later, Leah Peterson sent a crossing pass to Cassie Smelko who put it in the back of the net to give the Knights the 3-0 advantage.

Just three minutes into the second half, Smelko put one in the right corner from outside the 18 to cap the scoring.

“Strong ball handling skills by Bortz on the outside allowed us to maintain possession in the scoring half of the field,”

Johnson said. “Many well placed balls by Caroline Smelko and crosses from Cassie Smelko allowed Peterson to threaten an additional eight times.”

The Knights didn’t allow a Tigers shot on goal in the second half.

Eisenhower is back on the pitch at Conneaut Wednesday.

– – –

EISENHOWER 5, CONNEAUT (OH) 3, SATURDAY

CONNEAUT, Ohio – Leah Peterson scored a hat trick to lead Eisenhower to a 5-3 win at Conneaut (OH) Saturday.

Peterson buried her first goal 15 minutes into the first half, then scored twice in the second for the hat trick. The match was tied at 2-2 before Peterson’s two second-half goals.

“It was a great effort by everyone on the team,” Eisenhower assistant coach Alex Johnson said. “We came out looking to possess the ball early and make ourselves known as an attacking threat.”

The match was tied 1-1 at the half after Conneaut answered Peterson’s first half goal with one of its own just five minutes later.

Cassie Smelko put the Knights back on top, 2-1, early in the second, but Conneaut again needed just five minutes to answer. Peterson scored her second with 11 minutes to play and took a Caroline Smelko pass to the back of the net with just under two minutes to make it 4-2.

Conneaut answered to get within one at 4-3, but Patricia Bortz put one in from 30 yards to end the match.

“This is one of the best attacking games we have had in the past couple seasons and it’s obvious all the girls are goal hungry,” Johnson said. “We are happy to see all the hard work is starting to pay off and hope to keep the goal scoring going.”

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today