WEBSTER, N.Y. — An own goal was the difference when Rush-Henrietta defeated Webster Schroeder, 1-0 earlier in the season.
On Thursday night with the season on the line, Schroeder didn’t leave anything to chance.
Abby Herbst scored twice in the first half and Alyssa Doody added another goal in the opening 40 minutes as the No. 2 Warriors advanced to the Class AA semifinals with a 3-0 victory over No. 7 Rush-Henrietta.
“We were pretty focused,” Schroeder head coach Kent Brown said. “The kids played hard. They played really well. We had some good opportunities. I thought we were able to control the style of play for most of the game.”
Herbst opened the scoring in the 21st minute with an assist from Maddie Peterson. Doody ran on to a diagonal ball along the right flank from Sasha Zilist and connected seven minutes later.
34’ Abby Herbst connects on her second goal of the night. @Schroedersoccer 3-0 pic.twitter.com/q0mBRpGyP3
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 20, 2022
Herbst capped the scoring when she converted on a corner kick less than seven minutes before halftime for her team-leading seventh goal of the season. Zilist collected another assist on the play.
“She’s been able to dominate in the position where we need her to dominate,” Brown said of Herbst, a junior center-mid/forward. “She pressures the ball, and she’s able to hold it with her size to allow the other kids to get through.”
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM CHRISTOPHER CECERE HERE.
The Warriors managed just one goal in their first three games this season when they started with a win, a loss and a tie. They are currently unbeaten in the past seven games (6-0-1) – a stretch in which they have scored two or more goals on four occasions.
Brown credited Zilist’s play for the increase in scoring.
“She is a great attacking midfielder. As her confidence has come up, we’ve been able to hold the ball and do some more stuff around the attacking third.”
Schroeder will face No. 3 Brighton in the semifinals next Wednesday. Advancing in the postseason has been a point of emphasis for the Warriors.
“One of the things the kids talked about during the season was getting back over that quarterfinal hump,” Brown stated. “The last two years we’ve been eliminated in the quarterfinals.
“You always get worried that you’re not going to get back over it because every year is different. The kids really pulled together. The senior leadership has been fantastic.”
The challenge became greater when starting midfielder Emma Rascoe suffered a knee injury the final game of the regular season against Victor.
“Emma gave us pace and we’re not a team that’s got a tremendous amount of speed,” Brown said of the ninth-grader. “That made us change our formation and it took us a while to figure things out.”
Megan Fry made five saves for the shutout – Schroeder’s 13th clean sheet of the season.
The Warriors improved to 12-2-3 on the season and have outscored opponents by a combined total of 24-4.
“It’s really a fun group to be around. They just enjoy each other’s company. They’re always have fun with each other. When you get that atmosphere, you become a really hard team to beat.”
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