LIMA – The Lady Giants knew they just had to keep firing.
Despite dominating the first half against TRAC rival Lima Senior Wednesday evening, the Fremont Ross girls soccer team found itself scoreless and trailing by a goal at halftime.
Paige Drusback
Undeterred, the Lady Giants continued their strong play into the second half where they were rewarded for the patience and persistence. Ross scored three times in the second half to take a 3-1 victory from the Spartans.
“We had 40-plus shots on goal,” coach Phil Collison said. “Literally, we controlled the entire tempo of the match, we, again, just could not finish. We got a lot of great-quality shots, we just couldn’t put it in the net.
“The second half we were able to buckle down and at least put three in the net but, again, hit the post three times.”
Lima, on the other hand, scored on its only shot on the goal in the game.
The Lady Giants finally cashed in 10 minutes into the second half on a goal by Justine Michael off an assist by Jordan Relford.
About 12 minutes later, Paige Drusback put Ross ahead off an assist from Kelby Bickley. Drusback then struck again, adding an insurance goal with 10 minutes remaining thanks to an assist by Ashtyn Schneider.
It’s the second game in a row the Lady Giants’ offense dominated but saw limited results on the scoreboard. Monday night Ross settled for a 3-3 tie with Toledo Start despite the field being heavily tilted in its favor.
Justine Michael
Despite his team’s struggles putting the ball in the net, Collison does not believe there’s reason yet to be concerned about the issue becoming a long-term issue.
“There is a soccer theory that for every 10 shots you get, you put one in the net,” Collison said. “They have to continue plugging away and hopefully we can start finding the corners on the those balls that are hitting the posts.
“Their keeper did a good tonight too, she made a lot of good saves,” Collison added. “There were easily six more that could have gone in the net if she didn’t make great saves on.”
The win lists the Lady Giants’ overall record to 2-1-1 on the season and 1-0 in the Three Rivers Athletic Conference. It is the second year in a row the Lady Giants have defeated Lima Senior. Last year’s victory being the program’s first conference win. Collison said beating Lima again shows the program’s continued growth.
“I think it’s a good thing. It’s important for the kids to continue to get that (conference) victory and move forward. It’s a very difficult league we’re in, I don’t think anyone will dispute that in any sport. It’s definitely a good thing for our program.”
Now the question becomes, can the Lady Giants grab another conference win this year? Converting on a higher rate of scoring opportunities can only help.
“It’ll be a battle,” Collison said. “We’ll have to work hard in a couple of those matches,” he said. “If we’re able to finish, we’re be able to get them. If we can’t finish, we’ll have to play strong defensive matches.”
The Lady Giants return to action next Wednesday when they host Toledo Central Catholic at 5 p.m.