Waynesburg defeats visiting Uniontown, 5-0
Uniontown's Krista Jackson blocks the ball with her knee while being covered by Waynesburg Central's Haley Lipscomb during Wednesday's match at Waynesburg Central.
Uniontown's Kim Natural moves the ball across the field while being pursued by Waynesburg Central's Jenna Bohach during Wednesday's match at Waynesburg.
Waynesburg Central’s Haley Lipscomb pushes the ball up field for the Lady Raiders against Uniontown Wednesday night in their match at Waynesburg. (Photo by John F. Brothers)
Uniontown's Kim Natural battles with Waynesburg Central's Emily Phillips for control of the ball during Wednesday's match at Waynesburg.
Uniontown's Mallory Polito kicks the ball up field for the Lady Raiders during Wednesday's match against Waynesburg Central at Waynesburg.
WAYNESBURG — On a wet, cold Wednesday evening, the Waynesburg Central girls soccer team persevered and won their second straight Section 1-AA match, defeating visiting Uniontown, 5-0.
“We won Monday against Yough, so this is our second straight section win and it just feels good to get some positive momentum,” Waynesburg Central coach Chris Benson said. “We have battled injuries all year and we got some early goals and our defense played lights out. We capitalized on some opportunities and got a lot of kids into the game.”
Waynesburg (2-5, 2-3) was in the offensive zone most of the match to put up a season-high goal total.
The Lady Raiders’ defense was also stout, as Uniontown (2-6, 1-4) wasn’t able to sustain any offense, leading to the Lady Red Raiders’ fifth straight loss of the season.
Uniontown started the year 2-1, but during its current five-match losing streak has been outscored by a 29-3 margin.
“We just have to go back to basics and get more games in,” Uniontown coach Scott Menarcheck said. “Hopefully, if we can do that, we can reach our potential. Our goalie played well, but we let too many shots get to her. We need to work on our defense.”
Waynesburg struck first in the opening 40 minutes via a penalty kick by Emily Phillips at 35:21.
Nine minutes later, Waynesburg tallied two more goals in a span of a 1:33. Both goals were scored by Niki Augustine and were assisted by Tayler Benson.
“Niki and Tayler are our two main offensive weapons,” Benson said. “Niki always seem to be in the middle of the play and is always attacking. She is a goal scorer, and she plays 80 solid minutes for us. Tonight she got three, and she probably wanted more than that. Tayler broke her arm about a week ago and she is trying to get back into it, but she has had a lot of assists for us this season.”
Augustine completed the hat trick with an unassisted marker at 28:52 of the second half. The home team got another one in the back of the net, as Anna Artkowsky added a penalty kick with 18:02 left in the game.
“Anna has played well on defense,” Benson said. “She is extremely fast and doesn’t give the opposition a lot to work with. She is one of our leaders on defense and she has a lot of responsibilities. Our defense is what carries us and she anchors a huge part of that. It was nice to give her that chance on the penalty kick and she was able to get that goal for us late.”
Waynesburg’s goalkeeper Julie Camps saw limited action in the net, but was credited with two stops for her second consecutive shutout. Uniontown’s Celene Galik recorded 10 saves in the loss.
Both teams will be back in section action on Friday, as Uniontown hosts Southmoreland and Waynesburg welcomes Derry Area.