Sep 24, 2009 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – After going 0-4 to start the 2009 season, the Waynesburg Central Lady Raiders pulled to .500 with a 4-0 home victory over the Connellsville Lady Falcons Wednesday night. “I think we just needed some time to play with another and to jell better as the season went on,” Waynesburg coach Herb Thompson said. “Like I’ve been saying, we are still a young team, and I think it just takes time to get use to the varsity game.”

In a very physical game, Waynesburg (4-4, 3-2) outhustled and shutdown Connellsville (4-5, 3-2).

“The game definitely got physical in the second half,” Connellsville coach Jeff Puskar said. “In the first half, I don’t think we matched the intensity of Waynesburg, they moved the ball around really nice, overloaded some areas and played behind our defense. I thought we picked it up and had our chances, but we just didn’t finish, and my hat’s off to their team and their coaches.”

In four wins the Raiders outscored their opponents 17-4 as compared to the 13-3 total in their four losses.

“In the beginning of the season, we just got bounced all over the field,” Thompson said.

“We just talked to the girls and told them that old saying about how it doesn’t matter the size of the dog in the fight, and we stressed the importance of being physical and fighting for the ball.”

“You don’t necessarily have to beat the opponent; you just have to keep playing until they don’t want to play anymore. Our mentality is to scrape and to be aggressive, no matter who the opponent is.”

Waynesburg controlled the pace in the first half and kept the ball in the offensive zone.

The Raiders freshmen forward Hallie Kreuzer tallied the first goal at the 29:03.

With little more than 11 minutes left in the half, Kreuzer recorded her second goal to give the Raiders a 2-0 lead at halftime.

“Hallie got some speed, and she is just now learning how to play that forward spot,” Thompson said. “I feel bad for teams down the road when she finally gets it figured out because she got the speed and the power to dominate a game. She never gives up on a play and is just tenacious out on the field.”

Play was more balance in the second half.

The Raiders added to their lead with insurance goals by senior defender Julie Phillips (27:19) and freshmen defender Tayler Benson (10:56).

Waynesburg’s freshmen goalkeeper continues her strong play, recording seven saves, while Connellsville’s junior goalie Ashlyn Fratto had seven stops.

“We have to get back to playing a little quicker near the midfield,” Puskar said. “We are only playing with three defenders, so we like to take the pressure off those guys. We will go back to the drawing board and maybe put some more wrinkles in the mix and see what happens against AG.”

Thompson said, “After a game like this against a tough team in Connellsville, it definitely gives us a confidence boost. We are going to have our hands full will Belle Vernon, but if we play the way we played tonight, we can play with anybody in our section.”