NDCL vs. Madison girls soccer: Much-improved Lions continue hot form, 4-0
Sep. 29—If there's a conversation to be had about The News-Herald coverage area's most improved girls side over the last few weeks, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin has entered the chat.
The Lions are officially an on-form side, as exhibited Sept. 29 vs. a capable visitor in Madison.
Emily Redmond and Olivia Morris scored in the opening 40, and NDCL pulled away, 4-0, to push its win streak to five matches.
Whatever Lions coach Matt Tainer and his side have concocted since mid-September sitting at 1-4-1, it's working.
#NHsoccer @NDCLathletics senior midfielder Ava Bilavcic discusses her side's 4-0 win over Madison
Really appreciated the value & variety she brought tonight as an AMC tucked behind those strikers, bringing on-ball confidence & facilitating that helped open up the attack pic.twitter.com/cfJmVal7kY
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) September 30, 2022
After all, 6-4-1 sounds a lot better.
"The 80 minutes was fantastic," Tainer said. "I asked the girls to come out strong and play the full 80. And they did. (Since a 3-0 loss at News-Herald Top of the Crop side Chagrin Falls on Aug. 29), we've seen improvements and changed some stuff around. I think we're finally in a good place. We're doing really well, from starters to subs. I am really happy with all of them. They're working hard. They're cheering for each other. It's a good mentality around us right now."
Redmond got things started in the 14th minute. The senior, who had a notable ballwinning match, put home a right-footed strike from the middle of the box wide left off Kaitlyn Valentic service, her fifth goal of the season.
Morris pushed the advantage to 2-0 in the 31st. The junior midfielder embarked on a diagonal run, tried her luck with a lefty strike from distance and finished it low-90.
#NHsoccer NDCL 2-0
Olivia Morris 31st min pic.twitter.com/438vUTeyTW
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) September 29, 2022
"It was a great pass from Kaitlyn Valentic," Redmond said of her account opener. "It passed through a couple people. I just had the open shot, and I took it.
"Since the Chagrin game, I think we've really been working on connecting in the midfield and finding forwards' feet right away. With our team chemistry, obviously we've grown throughout the season. We're a lot stronger there. We've gotten stronger in the midfield to be able to hold our ground. We're playing quicker and playing less touches, which is good."
In a second 40 in which NDCL generated six shots on target, the quality continued. Alexis Dobbert converted a tight lofting strike in the 53rd, and senior Ava Bilavcic, who had a fine facilitating match in an attacking mid role, contributed the final margin with a free kick right at the hour mark.
With Redmond and Bilavcic pacing a good ballwinning and workrate display, the Blue Streaks (4-8-1) had one shot on target in the match and had difficulty generating a dangerous second ball.
"It's a lot of communication, which has been another thing that we're working on," Redmond said. "We're working on marks and talking about who's going to be where and where we should be vs. space or on a player. So we're not attacking that first ball right away. We're making sure we're positioning ourselves correctly for the second ball."
#NHsoccer My postmatch analysis of NDCL's 4-0 win over Madison
(Match story will be tweeted shortly) pic.twitter.com/GNuNNpg6Yn
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) September 30, 2022
