Waterloo girls soccer takes giant step in chase of first MVAC title

ATWATER TWP. — The Vikings' chase — their pursuit of their first league championship in program history — came up against the hardest obstacle they have faced all season Wednesday night.

That obstacle?

Goalkeeper Courtney Hurst and a very stout Champion defense.

The Golden Flashes were the first (and only) team to keep the Vikings out of the win column this season when they met the first time with the teams settling for a scoreless draw.

For 30 minutes, Wednesday's game followed a similar script.

Until Waterloo broke through, with junior Kaira English scoring in the 30th minute, and then again in the 45th minute, en route to a 2-1 victory over visiting Champion.

"We told them from the get-go, our offense is just so hard to stop, we will get one," Vikings coach Bill Jackson said. "We just got to keep attacking, attacking, attacking."

Waterloo (13-0-1, 11-0-1 Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference) is now one win from its first league title with two MVAC contests remaining — at Crestview and at Liberty. (The Vikings beat the Rebels by three and the Leopards by 16 earlier this season.)

"I think we have to keep a really focused mindset and not let this big win get into our mind and make us think that the next game is going to be an easy win," Waterloo senior Rose Couts said. "We still need to come out strong and we need to beat Crestview to win."

Midfield dominance key to Waterloo's win Wednesday

The goal entering Wednesday's contest, per Jackson, was simple.

Control the midfield.

The Vikings did that from the start, dominating possession and the shot count.

But Hurst proved tricky to put the ball past once again.

In the 17th minute, English wove her way through a couple of defenders and sent a liner on frame, but Hurst slickly pushed the ball over the crossbar. Later in the half, junior Sydney Jackson and Couts passed the ball back and forth up the left side of the field, with Jackson going top-shelf and Hurst again leaping and pushing the ball over the bar.

Hurst and the Golden Flashes were no less vexing than the first time they met.

The Vikings' answer was simple.

Keep shooting.

"For us, I think every shot's a good shot," English said. "It opens the defense. If it doesn't go in, you put it past you, you don't want to think about it too much, because then obviously you're not going to score, and we knew this game that we had to score."

Finally, after a couple of spectacular Hurst saves and many more near-misses, Jackson pounced on a Waterloo corner that came back outside the box and sent a cross right toward the goal.

"A lot of times if it goes out wide, then it'll come back out to me," Jackson said. "So I'm usually ready to cross back in or shoot it. Honestly, I'm not really picky about where it goes. I just want it in the box. Someone will get on it."

Hurst leapt to deflect the dangerous ball once again, but this time Jackson's service was so high that Hurst could only get her fingertips on it, thus pushing the ball off the bar instead of over the bar.

English read it perfectly the whole way, storming in on the rebound for the 30th-minute goal to break what had been 109:43 of scoreless soccer against the Golden Flashes to that point.

"As soon as I saw it go out to Syd, I knew it was going to be coming in fast and hard," English said. "Then, once I saw the angle of it going right to the goalie, I knew it was probably going to deflect."

English's second score featured a similar show of stellar fundamentals as she took a crisp pass up the field from senior defender Kayla Turcsak and executed a sharp turn past her defender. English then executed a slick change-of-pace dribble to create some space from the last defender before sending a sharp roller under the keeper for a 2-0 lead.

All of which proved mighty important when Champion, having mustered just a handful of shots entering the 59th minute, struck on a perfect pass from senior Avery Mickel to freshman Grayson Knoske to draw within 2-1.

The Golden Flashes had a couple of close chances at an equalizer in the following minutes, including Mickel sending a crisp through ball to leading scorer Taylor Kuhn in the 62nd minute, with Vikings keeper Grace Yarian arriving just in time to scoop the ball up. Ultimately, Waterloo's defense delivered with junior Lilly Foster and Turcsak speeding in just in time to clear the ball away on a number of occasions and senior Lillie Snyder filling a similarly big role.

"Lillie Snyder was phenomenal tonight, phenomenal keeping that other striker at bay because the last game we had some stretches where that second striker snuck in behind," Bill Jackson said. "Everybody gives so much attention to Kuhn and they should, but [Mia Nadaud] can sneak in behind and Lillie did a great job of staying home and staying true."

And so after starting the year with 109:43 of scoreless soccer, the Golden Flashes and Vikings ended their rematch with 21 more minutes without a goal and Waterloo found itself one giant step closer to its first league championship.

"It means so much for them," Jackson said. "They've worked so hard for this. A lot of people doubted it, but they all bought in in June and they bought into the whole chase mentality. It would mean a lot. It's just the first step, but it would mean a lot to put something on that banner."

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Waterloo girls soccer takes giant step in chase of first league title