Wildcats Whip Wayland in Girls Soccer

Spring has finally returned to the land, and the University School girls soccer team has returned to the playing field. And on a day the season displayed its glories, the Wildcats demonstrated their abilities, beating their Wayland Academy visitors 9-1 in a Midwest Classic Conference North game Monday.

USM warmed to the task early.  In the game's third minute, freshman Kate Nosbusch gained control off the ball on the left side of the Wayland eighteen-yard box. She crossed it into the box to the foot of senior Jenna Seter.  Seter touched it past a defender then, like a well-trained sharpshooter, she fired it past the Big Red's freshman goalie Leah Wahl.

USM scored again at 9:26.  Senior Erika Hurth began the play taking a corner kick.  A Wayland defender stopped the ball but it went back to Hurth like a boomerang.  She ran into it and blasted a shot into the Wayland net, giving USM a 2-0 lead.

The Wildcats scored again at 16:06.  Sophomore Amber Baker intercepted a Wayland goal kick, dribbled past a defender, and skillfully drilled a low shot into the net.

The score became 4-0 when Baker bent a free kick over Wahl's head from 20 yards out at 20:48.

Less than two minutes later USM scored again. Like the Pony Express, senior Libby Aik carried the ball down the right side then delivered it into the middle of the box. Freshman Merrill Read raced in, got the ball and lined a shot past for her first varsity goal at 22:39.

In the half USM outshot Wayland 18-0, and the defensive skill of seniors Emily Hendrickson, Ellie Wigdale, Margot Peterson, Sally James, and Maggie Schroeder, juniors Shivani Singh and Caity Prewitt, sophomores Catherine Jacobus and Julia Hanson, and freshmen Lindsay Teisl, Margaret Bodalski, Caroline Reardon and Sarah Aik, kept the ball in the Wayland end. At halftime Wigdale, who anchors the USM defense at sweeper, tersely commented, "We're playing great out there." The fact that the Big Red did not take a shot echoed Wigdale's observation, and USM's sophomore goalkeeper Nora Lucey had time to enjoy the spring air.

Wayland changed goalies in the second half, replacing Wahl with freshman Riane Wilkie, but the switch did not phase the Wildcat shooters. USM quickly tallied another goal. Baker brought the ball down the right side and passed it to Seter in the Wayland box. Like a member of the IRS, Seter collected it, turned, and lofted a shot into the top right corner of the goal at 47:26.

USM soon continued its scoring. Hurth sailed a corner kick into the Wayland box and Baker leaped and headed it in at 50:31.

The Wildcats notched their eighth goal at 56:45.  Seter touched a pass to James outside the Wayland eighteen. James immediately blazed a low rocket past Wilkie.

Nosbusch scored USM's final goal at 68:23.  Read passed the ball to her in midfield.  Nosbusch then took off like a racehorse, wove past several defenders, and then fired a shot from the right side to score her varsity goal.

The Big Red scored their sole goal at 69:05. Senior Candice Brown sent a crossing pass into the middle to freshman Jade Ramirez who ran into the middle of the USM box and blasted a shot past Lucey.

In the game Wahl made 7 saves, and Wilkie made 3 saves for a total of 10 saves for Wayland.  Lucey made 3 saves for USM.

Wayland is now 0-1 overall and in the conference.  USM is 1-0 overall and in the conference.  The Wildcats travel to Jackson to play Living Word Lutheran in a conference game at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.