First-place Waynesburg blanks Lady Falcons
Holly Tonini
Brownsville’s Sarah Lemesh (3) tries to keep the ball away from Waynesburg Central’s Lily Behm (2) and Bailey Fudula (26), Wednesday, at Waynesburg Central High School.
Brownsville's Mary Lemesh (10) and Waynesburg Cental's Madison Clayton (6) fight for control of the ball during their match Wendesday at Waynesburg Central High School.
Waynesburg Central' s Sophie Benco (19) kicks the ball away from Brownsville's Macy Bosworth (21) during their contest Wednesday at Waynesburg Central High School.
Waynesburg Central's Madison Clayton (6) shields Brownsville's Mary Lemesh (left) from the ball before scoring a goal Wednesday at Waynesburg Central High School.
WAYNESBURG — In preparation for its big section contest against Belle Vernon next week, the Waynesburg Central girls’ soccer team didn’t overlook Brownsville and prevailed 7-0 Wednesday night in Section 4-AA action.
“It’s tough not to look ahead towards Belle Vernon and it’s hard to keep your focus when you have a game of that importance ahead of you,” Waynesburg Central coach Joe Kijowski said. “It took us some time to get back to reality and after about 10 minutes we buckled down. It’s a total team effort and our possession game picked up. We got everyone involved tonight.”
With the win, the Lady Raiders (11-1, 10-1) are currently atop Section 4-AA with one section game remaining versus the Lady Leopards on Monday. After the section clash on Monday, Belle Vernon, who defeated Waynesburg 2-0 on Sept. 21, has two section games remaining.
“We have to bring our A-game against Belle Vernon,” Kijowski said. “If we can do that, we are going to do very well. We were a little tight when we last played them, but we learned a lot from that game. When we play our game, we are a very difficult team to play. This is a very exciting time for us and I told the girls to enjoy the ride and the challenge.”
Waynesburg reached the 11-win plateau for the first time since 2008 and has outscored its opponents this season by a 48-10 margin.
The highest win total in a season for Waynesburg is 13 in 2006.
Madison Clayton had a solid night for the Lady Raiders assisting on the opening goal and tallying four goals of her own. Through 12 games, Clayton has netted 27 goals.
After Lily Behm tallied the first goal of the contest at 30:55, Clayton scored the next three goals. Her goals were assisted by Bailey Fudala, Brenna Lipscomb and Sophie Benco, respectively.
The Lady Falcons (4-10, 2-8) had a quality scoring chance after the home team’s first goal, but were denied by Waynesburg’s goalkeeper Josey Evans.
Fudala registered the final goal of the first half with 45 seconds left, as Waynesburg carried a 5-0 lead into intermission.
The Lady Raiders increased their lead to 6-0 after Lauren Rose scored on a penalty kick at the 32:47 mark of the second half.
Clayton capped off the scoring with a marker at the 25:44 mark of the second half.
“I really like our chemistry on defense these last couple of games,” Kijowski said. “They are a close-knit group and it took time for them to jell. I’m very confident with our defenders and with Josey in net. Josey has been excellent in net and Lauren (Rose) is a three-year starter and knows the game. Our middle backs are very aggressive and they dictate the tempo.”
Evans recorded her fifth shutout of the year for Waynesburg and was credited with four saves, while Brownsville’s goalie Peyton Jacobs made eight stops in between the pipes.
The Lady Falcons will be back in action at home against non-section foe Monessen on Saturday and return to section action on Monday at home versus Elizabeth-Forward.