By PAUL GOTHAM
WEBSTER, N.Y. — Kent Brown might have preferred that his Webster Schroeder girls’ soccer team stayed under the radar for another week.
It’s difficult to go unnoticed when you’ve won or shared the past two Section V Class AA titles.
Brown’s Warriors closed the 2020 regular season Saturday night having gone unbeaten in their past three outings.
“We’re defending well,” the 29th-year coach said after Schroeder’s 1-0 win over Victor in Monroe County Division I action. “We’ve slowed down giving up goals, and we’re starting to produce.”
Schroeder, which went undefeated (15-0-4) a season ago, allowed more goals (7) during the first five games of 2020 than they did the entire 2019 season (6).
On October 24th, the Lady Warriors fell to Penfield 2-0. The loss dropped them to 1-4-0 on the season.
“We’ve sorta found our rhythm after we lost at Penfield couple weeks ago,” Brown stated. “I thought we played really well the first half (of that game). In the second half, they just ran over the top of us.”
Since that defeat, Schroeder has gone 3-1-2, and they are back to playing Schroeder soccer. Saturday night’s shutout was the third straight and fourth in those past six games.
“We’re slowly getting there.”
Adjusting to a school year with COVID-19 protocols has delayed the process.
“Part of the problem the kids are having is you go to school with only half of your class,” he noted. “The seniors are in one day, the juniors another. You don’t see each other during the day, so all those tight bonds we don’t have them.”
He saw the challenges developing earlier in the calendar year.
“A lot of what we do is based on work June and in the summer. We just weren’t able to do it (because of COVID restrictions). The team connections, the comfortableness with each other it was missing. You could see it the first couple of weeks (of this season).
“The seniors have struggled to find their thing that makes us tick because we’re just not around each other.”
Erika Lawson’s penalty kick in the 45th minute was the difference on Saturday. The Warriors brought consistent waves of pressure before earning the PK.
45’ Erika Lawson converts the PK to give @Schroedersoccer a 1-nil lead. pic.twitter.com/M6I5HNeMxk
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 7, 2020
“We’ve had a lot of games where we’ve been really good for 10 or 15 minutes in the other team’s final third. We just got to figure out the composure in front of the net and finish it when we get the chance. We had a couple tonight I thought we’d put away.”
Ashley Jacobs running far post came this close. pic.twitter.com/OqK0PiSK2i
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 7, 2020
Eliana Ockrin made eight saves for the shutout. Victor’s Ava Lattimer stopped 10 shots. Lawson’s goal was the senior’s first of the season.
Late opportunity for Victor, but Eliana Ockrin corrals the free kick. pic.twitter.com/l0lqK810uo
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 7, 2020
A year ago, Schroeder finished as co-champs with Penfield. The Patriots advanced to regionals on PKs. Schroeder (4-5-2) opens the 2020 post-season on Thursday against Rush-Henrietta (4-6-0). The Royal Comets have taken both meetings (3-2/2-1) between the Monroe County Division I rivals.
“We’ll see what happens the next couple weeks,” Brown said.
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