By PAUL GOTHAM
HILTON, N.Y. — Facing the prospect of losing his ship, Captain Jack Aubrey (played by Russell Crowe in Peter Weir’s 1998 action flick, Master and Commander) grabs his crew’s attention when he barks: “I can’t control the wind; I can only hope to harness it.”
A consistent breeze out of the southwest impacted play on LeBeau Field, Monday afternoon.
A veteran Webster Schroeder squad was able to ‘harness’ the elements just enough to get a win.
Leah Marcell and Sasha Zillist scored a goal apiece as Schroeder topped host Hilton, 2-nil in Section V Girls’ Soccer action.
“The wind was really hard to play against,” Schroeder head coach Kent Brown said. “When the players hit the ball, if they had any type of backspin on it, it would go straight up in the air and blow back at them.”
Marcell was able to convert on a rare chance in the first half when Schroeder played into the wind. Zillist intercepted a clearing attempt and added a goal in the second half.
“Part of it was we got the maturity with the 10 seniors,” Brown said. “That definitely helps.”
Two of those seniors, Marcell and Zillist along with juniors Gia Catalano and Jocelyn Gudyka dictated play from their midfield spots during that first half when the Warriors faced the wind.
“They did a great job of holding on to the ball and limiting Hilton’s ability to attack with the wind,” Brown said. “We told the kids, especially on goal kicks, to try and play it as quick as you can because if we allowed Hilton to get into their press, we were going to get stuck in our end. In some cases, we were just better giving up a throw-in at midfield. At least then it allowed us to organize our defense a little bit.”
Dictating play in the middle third led to Marcell’s goal. Moments earlier, Morgan Tara’s attempt was cleared off the line by Hilton’s Alexa O’Neill.
Marcell was in the right spot when a second attempt from Tara was blocked by a Hilton defender and one-timed the second chance for her seventh goal of the season.
28’ Leah Marcell finds the back of the net to give @Schroedersoccer a 1-nil lead. @secvgirlssoccer pic.twitter.com/ORT9u3UmFS
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 9, 2023
“We had a pretty good buildup and then the ball sorta got knocked loose,” Brown said. “Leah had a pretty good shot from 16 yards out. She was able to put it in.”
Zillist added to the lead 17 minutes into the second half. The senior midfielder scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season from 25 yards out.
Schroeder had a 13-8 advantage in shots on goal for the game. With the wind at their backs in the second half, the Warriors worked for six corner kicks without conceding a set piece in their defensive end.
Wind nearly pushed this cross into the net. Sierra Bianchi makes the save. pic.twitter.com/iyUeNbK2Gl
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 9, 2023
“We talked about controllable and uncontrollable factors today,” first-year Hilton head coach Nino Pilato said. “The wind being an uncontrollable factor. Unfortunately, we did not use it to our advantage too well. Yesterday, we practiced outside in the elements also. It’s a learning tool. That’s one of the better teams around. They’re senior led. We’re young.”
Sierra Bianchi made eight saves for Hilton.
Sierra Bianchi with the 🤛 out and kick save. Early second half: Schroeder 1 Hilton 0 pic.twitter.com/WPfblvKaBt
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) October 9, 2023
Schroeder’s Elli Ockrin stopped five shots for the shutout.
The win was the sixth straight for Schroeder (13-1-0) whose only loss this season came to seven-time reigning sectional champion, Spencerport. That was a 4-nil setback. Those two teams play again on Wednesday.
“We’re playing pretty well. Spencerport, clearly is the team to beat. They’re really good. We’ll have to figure out how to combat them on Wednesday. They play really good soccer.”
Hilton (8-4-2) hosts Penfield on Wednesday. A 7 PM kickoff is scheduled.
*Article has been updated to give credit to the correct goal scorer.
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