Kenston rallies for 2-1 opening win over Ohio girls soccer power Mansfield Madison
Aug. 20—Reese Cochran alleges she's not the one on the pitch to have the most belief instilled stepping over a strike from distance and taking it.
After all, she's a freshman just now immersing herself in the high school game, into a Kenston side that can be potent in the attack on the day and coming off a Division II regional run last fall.
Given what transpired Aug. 20 in the Bombers' season lidlifter against Mansfield Madison, Cochran might want to tweak that belief.
Cochran's gorgeous piledriver in the 72nd minute propelled Kenston to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over the Rams, one of Ohio's most successful postseason sides of recent memory led by perennial All-American Taylor Huff.
#NHsoccer Freshman Reese Cochran with an upper 90 crack she'll remember for a while — & obviously a big pick me up for Kenston
2-1 72nd min pic.twitter.com/wS8MTHJ5eZ
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) August 20, 2022
The route taken by the Bombers (1-0) was tedious past the hour mark, down by a goal and not seeming overly threatening for an equalizer, let alone a match-winner.
The last 15 minutes changed the outlook emerging from Bainbridge on this humid Saturday afternoon for the better.
"I think our midfield started running at players and making them commit to us, and that opened up spaces," Kenston coach Jonathan Kostoff said. "I watched the tape, and (Mansfield Madison) was sitting deep. We finally had the confidence to take shots from distance.
"We started to grow in confidence, and we're a different group this year. We're just continuing to look for marked improvement."
#NHsoccer Kenston senior defender Jayme O'Neill discusses a 2-1 win over Mansfield Madison
Such a solid piece in that Bombers' side throughout her career as an outside back, & with her ballwinning/ facilitating, like this match, she provides stability as a center or outside back pic.twitter.com/3p9ID1GN2f
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) August 21, 2022
Kostoff got that and then some from his side late to grab the result.
Ramsey Smith had a post rattler in the 62nd minute, which seemed to jump-start Kenston's fortune.
Paige Spicuzza had the equalizer in the 67th, setting a touch and going for a left-footed strike that took a tight bounce and in to make it a 1-1 match.
#NHsoccer Kenston equalizer
Paige Spicuzza 67th min
1-1 match pic.twitter.com/xe0xAOAfpW
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) August 20, 2022
The Bombers weren't just settling for a positive result, though. They wanted the full honors on the afternoon.
Enter Cochran.
Spicuzza put her back to goal and served for Cochran.
The ninth-grader went for a right-footed chip that was perfectly placed upper-90.
Cochran raised her arms in stunned amazement as her teammates converged, with a moment she'll relish going forward: A match-winner in her high school debut.
"Everyone tells me to shoot a lot more," Cochran said. "And I don't have that much confidence in my shooting. But whenever I saw my open shot, Paige passed it back and I just took it.
"I think we all just started getting more confident and really trusting in each other and not giving up."
Mansfield Madison took its 1-0 lead deep into the match from a set-piece finish, as Taylor Tucker connected for a header on the edge of the six on lofting corner service.
Coming soon
For more from this match, as Kostoff discusses his new-look side and the purpose that this Madison result can serve in its timing, check back in the coming days on News-Herald.com and in our print edition.
#NHsoccer My postmatch analysis on Kenston's 2-1 win over Mansfield Madison
If we can bottle up that last 15 going forward, I'm good pic.twitter.com/TdiWIZFbNM
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) August 21, 2022
