Lucci’s tally give Cougars second-ever win over Rochester
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
ROCHESTER HILLS — Wins for Rochester Stoney Creek against district rival Rochester have been hard to come by for the Cougars girls soccer program.
In fact prior to Thursday, Stoney Creek had only grounded the Falcons one other time, that coming in the 2008 season.
The Cougars broke through with their second-ever win over RochesterThursday, topping the host Falcons 1-0 in a non-league match. The two rivals will play their conference game in two weeks.
“It’s a big win for us,” said first-year Stoeny Creek coach Bryna Mittelstadt. “I’ve been coaching down on the (junior varsity) team for the past four years, and I know that we don’t beat Rochester very often. I thought they were bigger than us, but we just went in and got the job done.
“I was really pleased with our girls’ effort tonight,” continued Mittelstadt said. “I thought that we all came together, and it was good to get out of there with a win.”
After a scoreless first half, the Cougars (4-3-0) took advantage of a restart in 41st minute. Maddie Lucci redirected a free kick from Hannah Darin past Rochester goalkeeper Laura Ivezaj.
It proved to be all the offense the Cougars would need.
Rochester outshot Stoney Creek 9-4, including 4-3 with shots on frame,but never net the equalizer. Stoney Creek goaltender Tori Albertson made four saves, including stopping Sofia Farah in the box during a 3-on-1 rush with 10 minutes left in the first half.
Ivezaj and backup Stephanie Heber both made one save in the loss for the Falcons.
Rochester, which slipped to 3-4-1, has now lost three games by 1-0 scores, which included defeats to Berkley and Auburn Hills Avondale. The Falcons Achilles’ heel is finishing on its scoring chances, including restarts.
Rochester had five cornerkicks, but could not find a player aggressive enough to try for a redirect.
“I thought our build up was good,” said Rochester coach Todd Heugh. “I was also pleased with how our midfield played today compared to how they’ve been playing, but our inability to score really just bit us again. We are just struggling to score goals now in a lot of our games. This is our fourth loss and third that we have lost 1-0. We’ll just keep working on it in practice. (Scoring on restarts) has been a strength of ours forever. Now, that is not the case.”
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Category: High School, Oxford, Rochester, Rochester Stoney Creek
