Brian Woeste’s in-game instructions were simple.
“Keep working,” Notre Dame’s soccer coach said during the first half of Tuesday’s state first round game against George Rogers Clark.
The Pandas kept working – to the quarterfinals thanks to their 5-0 win on the Cardinals’ pitch in Winchester. The reward – a home state quarterfinal match against South Laurel. (The starting time and date had yet to be determined.)
You could make a case for Notre Dame’s Riley Robertson and Ellie Heyob being two of the most productive Pandas – Robertson scored three goals for the first time this season, and Heyob added the other two – which Woeste thought were her second and third varsity tallies.
Tuesday was Robertson’s second career three-goal game and first this year. (She had one against St. Henry last year.)
“It just feels really good,” Robertson said. “I, personally, haven’t been in the state tournament yet.”
Before the match, GRC coach Erica Hanson said Notre Dame was the best team still playing.
“It was the best team we played by far,” Hanson said afterward.
GRC was somewhat shorthanded. Six Cardinals were away on fall break and starting defender Anna Barnes was out with a leg injury.
It didn’t take Notre Dame (20-3-2) long to open the scoring – Robertson beat GRC keeper Madeline Redmon in the sixth minute.
“I think that they are so dynamic going forward as a group, that you can’t afford to leave anyone open,” Hanson said. “You have to press every single one of their kids.”
To Woeste, pressing was a strategy that worked all night.
“Every once in a while a plan comes together,” he said. “We knew we wanted to apply early pressure, try to get that early goal, and we did … I feel like when we come on the field and we play the way we’re playing and we finish our chances – especially when we get that early goal – we’re tough to beat.”
One of Woeste’s directives to Kate Lenihan – “Open up, Kate!” – was effective. It forced GRC (11-7-3) to defend more space, thus giving Notre Dame wider passing lanes.
“The wider we are with our shape, the more space our players have,” Woeste said. “By our wings staying wide, it forces them to defend the wide players, and that gives our central midfielders more space.”
Heyob took advantage in the 19th minute – a pass from Maya Tully let her split two Cardinals on the way to the goal.
“It was a perfect ball to me that I ran onto,” Heyob said.
Robertson scored her second and third goals, in the 54th and 64th minutes, in much the same way – she converted passes from Hannah Knapke, who got the assists.
Heyob finished the scoring in the 73rd minute. Eva Dozier started the play with a pass, Heyob’s shot bounced off Redmon, and Heyob collected the rebound and tapped the ball in.
Pandas keepers Joelle Hentz and Hannah Renaker combined for the shutout.
Woeste watched the second half of South Laurel’s 2-0 win over Estill County.
“They look like they have a lot of pace up top,” Woeste said. “They did make attempts to possess the ball and play combinations, which is good, and that’s going to make them a challenge for us.”