Quick strikes lead Troy past Athens in OAA-Red opener
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
TROY — In its season opener last season, Troy defeated Troy Athens on the soccer pitch in a game that featured two legitimate state title contenders. In that game, the Colts scored three goals with in a 15-minute span.
Athens, however, did not lose another league last season en route to the OAA Red Division title with a 9-1-0 record. Troy ended up going 7-1-2 and finished third.
A NOTCH ABOVE: Troy's Madison Hirsch controls the ball as Troy Athens' Alyssa Cowper closes the gap during Thursday's OAA Red Division opener. Photo | Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com
Troy would love to be able to add a league title to its resume this season, although the Colts are eventually eying another shot at the Division 1 state crown. Troy lost to Novi in last year’s state title match.
“I think we would like that feather in our cap, but our main goal is to prepare for the end of the season,” admitted Troy coach Brian Zawislak. “We have a long way to go. In all of the years, Troy only won a few league championships, but we’ve had a lot of success in the tournament.”
Troy has posted a promising start in the first week with a pair of 2-0 wins against league opponents, also defeating Lake Orion by the same score on Tuesday. The Colts are tabbed as one of the teams to beat again in the state and have come to the understanding that there is a large target on the program’s back.
“We have talked about it,” said Zawislak. “Whenever you do well, teams will be (gunning to knock you off). We just have to keep working hard and playing hard and not think about (rankings and preseason expectations).”
Even down three players who were missing for various reasons, Troy was good enough to beat an Athens team that graduated eight starters, but was far from late-season form.
Much like last year, Troy scored all of its goals in a short time period and all in the first half, before playing shut down defense throughout to pitch the shutout.
Troy cashed in a paycheck and a bonus within a 30-second period of the first half to go up 2-0 at the half.
Madison Hirsch gave Troy a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute, as the junior sniper was left alone with a close-range shot and she deposited the ball into the back of the net. Senior Miss Soccer candidate Irene Young set up the helper on the play.
The Colts struck again with 25:45 to go in the half. Grace Goodrich’s long, bending shot from the near the sidelines sailed over the Athens defense and goalkeeper and landed in the upper reaches of the far side of the net.
Troy went on to post a 13-6 shots advantage, including 12-4 with shots on goal, but did not score again. The Colts did clamp down on defense, limiting the Red Hawks to only a couple of solid scoring chances.
“I thought we were very organized in the back, keeping them to just a couple of scoring chances,” said Zawislak. “That has been one of our biggest focuses the first few weeks. We’re trying to get used to each other’s tendencies and used to playing with one another again. The offense will come more later in the season.”
Athens still had its chances in the game, including a 30-yard blast by Kristin Carney that caromed off the crossbar with 13:45 to play. Kendall Wachowski was in close range for the rebound opportunity, but was quickly smothered by Troy junior goalkeeper Alison Holland.
Holland made four saves for Troy, although saw Athens skip a shot off the outside of the goalpost in the first half.
“I thought that you could really tell that it was early in the season,” said Athens coach Todd Heugh. “We were a little sloppy with the ball, and it cost us for a little while. I thought we came out and tightened everything up, though. Tonight was all about effort for us. We’ve got these girls learning a lot of new things and getting adjusted to new systems and new coaches. We broke down mentally, and a good team will make you pay. Troy scored two quick goals on us.”
“We still had a couple of nice chances,” added Heugh. “We had the one long sdhot and rebound in the second half and the one that hit the post in the first half. We created some chances,. I just hope as the season moves along we’ll be able to create more chances against the good team.”
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