Lady Scots take a while to warm up in 4-0 win over Waynesburg
ALVERTON – If first-year coach Bob King has any concerns about his Southmoreland girls soccer team, it’s that they usually take a while to warm up. Once they do, everything seems to fall into place. That was the case on Monday when the Lady Scotties and visiting Waynesburg Central were scoreless until Andrea Wisniewski scored on the team’s eighth shot nearly 29 minutes into the game.
A late goal by Alyssa Argento with 3:04 left gave Southmoreland a 2-0 halftime lead.
An early goal by Paige Weaver just 2:25 into the second half and a rebound goal by Brooke Zimmerman 13:44 into the half provided the final edge of 4-0.
Afterwards, King mentioned his team’s slow start, but also gave credit to Waynesburg Central for starting the game with energy and enthusiasm.
“We need to find a way to get fired up from the get-go,” King said. “We always come out slowly, but pull together.
“I didn’t know what Waynesburg talent level was. They surprised me and came out with fire in their eyes.”
A big difference in the game was shots on goal, with Southmoreland (3-1, 2-0) taking 24 shots on Waynesburg goalkeeper Anne Throckmorton, while Shelby Hawkins faced just two direct shots on goal in the game.
Waynesburg Central (2-3, 1-1) actually had the game’s first shot when Hawkins stopped Danielle Jacobs seven minutes into the first half. Throckmorton turned away Southmoreland’s first shot on goal by Argento just over a minute later.
Throckmorton stopped shots from cousins Hayley Skovira and Jessica Skovira within minutes of each other, and made a solid save on Wisniewski minutes later.
But Wisniewski struck at 28:55 and Argento’s goal gave SHS some breathing room at halftime.
Throckmorton made a great save against Wisniewski just 30 seconds into the second half on a breakaway chance, and stopped Hayley Skovira one minute later.
But after stopping Wisniewski once again, Throckmorton was unable to keep Weaver’s shot from the side out of the net as the Lady Scotties built a 3-0 lead.
Zimmerman’s goal to end scoring also came on a rebound of a shot by Wisniewski.
Waynesburg’s best scoring chance of the half came with six minutes left when Niki Augustine’s hard shot caromed off the corner of the post and crossbar and rolled out of bounds.
“Defensively, we played a fantastic game,” King said. “But (Waynesburg) also played real well out of the gate. Hats off to their defense. Their goalkeeper made some nice saves.”
Waynesburg Central coach Chris Benson said Southmoreland “has a lot of speed and skill. They possess the ball very well. They scored that first goal and the floodgates opened up. They’re a very good team”
Benson was pleased with the play by Throckmorton and defenders Augustine, Makayla Moore, and Anna Artkowsky.
“(Throckmorton) made the saves she should have and one or two she shouldn’t have. The ones that went in, went in.”
Waynesburg Central will host Mount Pleasant on Wednesday, while Southmoreland will be at home to play Greensburg Salem.