Bears find a way, beat Knights on Andree's second-half goal
Sep. 23—Oakdale, fresh off an appearance in the state semifinals in girls soccer and ready to take everyone's best shot, got one Thursday night from Middletown.
Yet the Bears maintained their poise, kept plugging away and eventually found the right combination for a 1-0 home win over the Knights.
Playing close, tense games is nothing new for Oakdale (3-0-3), which opened the season with a pair of ties against state powers Hereford (0-0) and Walt Whitman (2-2) and added another against two-time state champion Manchester Valley (1-1) last week.
"Sometimes, you just have those games where things aren't clicking," Bears coach Annie Schwarzenberg said. "And you still have to find a way to win. We were able to do that tonight."
The winning goal was scored with 32 minutes, 48 seconds to play in the second half by sophomore Hannah Andree, a club player who is in her first full season on the varsity team.
"I got the ball in the middle of the box," Andree said. "My teammate Sam [Gregorio] told me to take a shot. So, I noticed an open spot with a defender. I took a touch with my right foot and shot it."
Asked if she would have shot it if Gregorio hadn't encouraged her to do so, Andree, one of the youngest players on the team, said she would have since she saw the small crack on the defensive line.
Her high, hard shot glanced off the outstretched hands of Middletown's sophomore goalkeeper Kristine Paza before going into the net.
Already, Andree has one of the best shots on the team. Her previous goal this season was scored on a free kick.
"Hannah has been doing phenomenal this season," Schwarzenberg said. "She's a really, really smart soccer player. Super technical. She's able to do really well in the midfield for us keeping the ball. And she's very talented outside the 18 with her finishing."
Paza made a couple of outstanding saves in the second half to keep Middletown (1-4) within striking distance.
The Knights just couldn't generate enough offense, which has been an issue for them in recent seasons.
Through five games, they have scored five goals. But three of them came in a shutout win over Catoctin.
"We have really struggled just finishing," Middletown coach Heather Kline said.
But the Knights came off the field feeling good about their performance, which hasn't always been the case, according to Kline, because of the way they competed against a top-flight opponent.
They created a few chances for themselves and weren't pushed around at all.
"I said to my kids, I am so proud of the effort that we gave," Kline said. "I never like losing a game. But I will lose a game like that, where we made everything competitive. We worked really hard. We've started doing some of the things we've been practicing."
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