Soccer coaches can’t talk enough about scoring in the game’s first 10 minutes.
The St. Henry Crusaders did it not once, but twice on their way to a 4-1 win over the Bishop Brossart Mustangs at the Mustang Athletic Complex in the All “A” sectional game. The Crusaders led 3-0 at halftime and kept the energy up, holding off any Brossart comeback hopes.
“We just focus on playing our game,” said Jarrett Baston, St. Henry head coach. “Our game is playing quick, not rushed and playing the easiest ball possible. That’s how we connected.”
The Crusaders now move on to the All “A” State Tournament on Sept. 23 in Louisville. St. Henry (6-7) takes on the 13th/14th Region sectional winner at 11 a.m. at Assumption in the quarterfinals.
It took St. Henry just more than four minutes to take the lead for good. Alexa Riegler played a ball into the box that Avery Pleiman ran to and headed into the net.
“It definitely was a boost to score the first goal because it just gives us the hype that we need to keep going throughout the whole game,” Pleiman said. “Then it just builds up the whole team to keep pushing as far as we can.”
The Crusaders continuously won the 50/50 balls in the midfield creating more opportunities. Jada Purcell took a pass from Annalee Ernst and scored with 30:43 left to put the Crusaders up 2-0.
“It definitely went really far to just get in there first, keep control of the game and have possession,” Ernst said. “I’m going to get (the ball) or I’m going to go down trying for it. I think it all goes toward our mindset.”
St. Henry outshot Bishop Brossart, 17-9 and had four corner kicks to one for the Mustangs. Brossart goalkeeper Madeline Broering made four saves.
Avery Collins played the first half and Savannah Eder played the second half in goal for St. Henry. Collins did not have as much work making no saves while Eder made four when Brossart (9-4-1) created more shot opportunities.
Even with the two-goal lead, St. Henry kept up the pressure. It paid off when Aubrey Logan wrested the ball away from a Brossart defender and scored with 24:49 left in the first half to make it 3-0.
The Crusaders added another with 28:30 left in the game when Pleiman scored an unassisted goal for her second of the game.
“Our defense does an amazing job,” Batson said. “They work so well cohesively. If one has to recover, the other one has to step in and they do such as a good job playing off one another.”
Brossart averted the shutout with 22:16 left when Zoey Woosley scored on an assist from Avery Schaeffer. That marked Woosley’s fourth goal of the season and Schaeffer’s team-high ninth assist.
“I think they outplayed us the first 30 minutes,” said Andy Smith, Brossart head coach. “They put us in our place. We had a hard time coming back. We just weren’t ready to play and they were. We didn’t match their energy and intensity.”
Brossart plays host to Campbell County (5-7-2) in a crucial 37th District game Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. St. Henry travels to Ludlow (5-4-1) on Thursday for a 34th District game at 7 p.m.