By PAUL GOTHAM
WEBSTER, N.Y. — Sophie Esders wasn’t ready for her high school soccer career to end.
And the senior forward left matters to her trusty feet.
Esders sparked an early barrage of three goals, and No. 4 Webster Thomas (13-4-0) cruised to a 6-nil win over No. 5 Pittsford Mendon (12-5-0) in Section V Class AA quarterfinal action, Saturday night.
“I was just hoping we could win, so we could keep going and have practice next week,” she said.
Esders found the back of the net six minutes into the match then set up teammate Maggie Auinger less than a minute later. Younger sister, Leah Esders made it a 3-nil game.
More than 60 minutes remained, but the contest had in effect already been decided.
“It was a team effort,” Esders said. “We all came into the game with a great mindset. We all want to show up at practice on Monday. We all worked together. I was just the one who ended up with the ball at my feet.”
The win was sixth straight for the Titans who have scored on 21 occasions during the recent stretch.
“The confidence level is really high,” said head coach Scott Brown who is in his 24th year as head coach. “The girls bonded really well in the last four or five games. We’re moving the ball well. Defensively, we’re communicating. The girls are playing well. That was a good game.”
Evidence of the ball movement came with a smattering of offsides calls – the product of an offense that relentlessly looks to play forward.
“The girls like to score, like to get assists,” Brown said. “We’re trying to split their defenders, trying to get between their midfield line and defensive line. We’re really good at finding those gaps. We love to make runs in and behind.”
Esders converted a penalty kick less than three minutes into the second half. Then she won a ball in the air off her sister, Emily’s corner kick for her third tally of the night. She capped the scoring when Auinger sprung her for a 1v1 with Mendon keeper, Rachel Hiller. The goal was her team-leading 19th of the season.
“She’s the leader on the field,” Brown said. “She brings the huddle together. She’s the one communicating on the field, and she communicates with me as well. When she sees we’re having trouble in the midfield, she’ll drop into that 6 or 8 spot and push someone else out of there, so we can control it. She’s kind of a coach on the field. 100 percent.”
Auinger had two assists in the win.
Seraphina Lippa made three saves for the shutout.
Thomas will face top-seeded Spencerport in the semifinals scheduled for next Wednesday. The two teams split a pair of regular season meetings with the Titans snapping the nine-time sectional champions’ 63-game unbeaten streak against Section V teams.
Leave a Reply