The Terrier Women’s Soccer Team got back on track on Tuesday in a convincing 3:0 victory over visiting Theil College (PA) in a match that was played at the Brosius Road Park in Garrettsville, OH due to the field conditions on campus.

 

Hiram immediately established the tone and tempo of the match by establishing both possession and a great number of chances early on the match.  The quality of the chances was not immediately to the standard that was to be expected from Head Coach Bob Dean. 

 

“We really got after them early and had some tremendous possession,” Dean said.  “But our quality in the final third early on was disappointing.  Our youth shows early on when we should be able to get on top early and it becomes frustrating when you don’t.”

 

The Terriers generated four or five very good quality chances before the breakthrough came.  In the 26^th minute, first-year midfielder Natasha Blonsky (Calabasas, CA/Agoura) got free on the right flank near the penalty area and fed a ball on the ground to junior forward Ernestina Zappa (Brooklyn, OH/Laurel).  Zappa deftly laid the ball off one-touch to onrushing central midfielder junior Chelsea Ulmer (Toledo, OH/Sylvania Northview) who slammed home her first goal of the season to give Hiram a 1:0 lead.

“We have had that type of final third combination on all season and have just not been able to find it,” added Dean about the first goal.  “It was really a work of art and provided great signs that the level these players have decided to train at is proving itself to be effective.”

 

Unfortunately, it seemed a bit like Hiram took the proverbial “foot off the gas” in the remainder of the half as the possession broke down and the defense seemed to get exposed slightly.  Junior goalkeeper Kate Valaitis (Lewis Center, OH/Olentangy) kept the back organized and provided an outlet for some of the openings.

 

“Frankly, we were exposed and should not have been,” said Dean.  “We really lacked the initiative and discipline and should have never put ourselves in that position in a match like this.”

 

Second-half keeper first-year Lisa Silvestro (London, ON/London Gryphons) came up big for Hiram in the 57 minute with a point-blank save as the exposure of the defensive scheme continued into the second stanza.

 

Fortunately for Hiram, the score line stayed at 1:0 until the 65^th minute when Blonsky was able to turn on a defender just inside the penalty area and her driven ball found the lower left corner of the goal to lift the Terriers to what proved to be an insurmountable lead over the visiting Tomcats.

 

Then, seven minutes later it was Ulmer, Blonsky, and Zappa again who provided the lethal combination that led to a goal.  Blonsky battled a 50/50 ball on the right flank and played a ball early to Ulmer who was balancing play out of the middle of the field.  Ulmer played a very early ball behind the Theil midfield to Zappa running forward into the final third.  And, the quality of her final pass was first-class when Zappa slipped the ball to first-year forward Tiffany Marchewka (Chesterfield, MI/L’Anse Cruese North) for her second goal of the season.

 

“Again, we showed these great signs of sophistication and quality in the build-up and in the final third and it is very good for us,” Coach Dean indicated.

 

First-year goalkeeper Jocelyn Schmidt (Kent, OH/Roosevelt) came on in the closing minutes to share in the clean sheet on the day for Hiram and was able to stand up to some late pressure generated by a corner and a set piece.  But, in the end, the score line was the loudest statement for Hiram in the decisive, but not convincing, victory according to Coach Dean.

 

“We have some work to do to sort out the mentality of how to keep a team from getting in on us as well as putting away our chances early,” he added.  “But the overall assessment of this day is really very positive because this collective group of individual only rise to the occasion with adversity like a poor field and change in venue.  I have so much genuine admiration for them and feel blessed.”

 

The Terriers next travel to Greencastle, IN this Saturday for a 12 p.m. tie with new North Coast Athletic Conference foe DePauw University in their conference opener.