Wilmington hounds Big Reds defense in victory

Dan Hiner, The Herald, Sharon, Pa.
·2 min read

Oct. 4—WEST MIDDLESEX — From the opening kick, the Wilmington girls soccer teams battled for possession. Once they got the ball, they very rarely let it out of the West Middlesex half of the field.

The offensive pressure by the Greyhounds led to a 7-0 win on Monday evening at West Middlesex High School.

Annalee Gardner scored twice to lead Wilmington (9-3, 2-1 Region 1). Sabrina Devite, Analise Hendrickson, Sarah Dieter, Emily Arblaster and Makayla Fink each scored once.

Gardner, Devite and Hendrickson each had an assist.

"Passing the ball to try to get a goal it, it was fun," Gardner said.

The Greyhounds controlled the game with their offense. But they had a number of other chances to put the ball in the back of the net. Wilmington head coach Ben Bailey said he wants his team to improve on finishing their shots as the season begins to wrap up.

"That's one thing we've struggled with all season is finishing, and it's clearly evident this evening," Bailey said. "I think we had almost 40 shots on frame, so that's one thing we have to clean up so when we get into those games that are 1-0, 2-1, we're able to put that in the back of the net."

West Middlesex goalkeeper Cassie Vorisek was dealing with an injured leg entering the match. She was put under constant pressure all evening by the Greyhounds' offense. Vorisek finished with 32 saves.

The Big Reds (1-5, 1-4 Region 1) had a couple chances on some breakaways, but the shots went wide of the net. Taylor Kendall made one save.

"We have eight girls. No subs, and you see that reflect out there on the field with trying to move the ball, trying to get the ball out," West Middlesex head coach David Moyer said. "And moving it's hard to get people when you need them because they're already winded from prior plays."

The Greyhounds tired out the Big Reds back line with their passing. The Hounds found open space in the middle of the field and tried to make the extra pass for a score.

Wilmington has the control and the passing down. Now the Hounds need to work on finishing when they get chances, and Gardner said Monday's win can help with preparing them for closer matches.

"I think (Monday's win) gets us going into playoffs, hopefully," Gardner said. "Just working on our touches and working on our game. It really helps us out later in the season."