By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Morgan Pearson scored in the sixth minute and the goal held up for Wausau West in a 1-0 win over injury-riddled Marshfield in a Wisconsin Valley Conference girls soccer game Thursday at Griese Park.
West (1-1 WVC) outshot the Tigers (1-3-1, 0-2 WVC) 9-3 and held Marshfield without a shot on goal until the 65:15 mark in the second half.
The Tigers were missing three players due to injury and had to move a number of players into different positions and substitute more freely to make up for it.
“We’ve got a number of players that are down and that’s kind of hurting us a little bit,” Marshfield coach Brad Kowalski said. “We have a number of players playing positions they have never played before. We would work it down really nice, get down to the last third (of the first) and kind of breakdown from there.”
Pearson’s goal 5:50 into the game gave West the early lead, but it was Marshfield that controlled the ball for most of the first half.
Despite spending a majority of the first 40 minutes in West territory, the Tigers were unable to get a shot on goal and used stellar defense to keep the score 1-0.
“I’ve been pleased with our defense,” Kowalski said. “They do a lot and keep the ball out. They make occasional mental mistakes, and Wisconsin Rapids (in an 8-0 loss to the Raiders on Tuesday) made us pay for every single one of them. That’s what we’ve got to keep focussing on and keep the girls working on it.”
Marshfield goalie Kassi Todryk made seven saves, including six in the second half as the Warriors made more of a push at the Tigers’ end of the field.
Marshfield had its chances as well. Emily Wolfe ripped a shot off the left post after a terrific crossing pass from Myranda Schmitt. Ten seconds later, Allison Gruen’s shot was saved by West goalie Haley Fochs.
Courtney Thuman had a shot with 10 minutes left that sailed wide and Marshfield had a corner kick at the 71-minute mark but it couldn’t muster anything else offensively.
“We’ve got a couple of them that are out for awhile with broken bones and one with a bad knee, so they are going to be gone so we need to have some people to step in,” Kowalski said. “It’s going to take a few games to get used to their positions and working together. It will come, it will just take a few more games for us.”
The Tigers travel to Wausau West for a tournament on Saturday and returns to Valley action Tuesday at home against Wausau East.
Warriors 1, Tigers 0
Wausau West 1 0 – 1
Marshfield 0 0 – 0
First half
1. W, Morgan Pearson (unassisted), 5:50.
Second half
No scoring
Shots on goal: West 9, Marshfield 3. Saves: W, Haley Fochs 1; M, Kassi Todryk 6.
Records: West 1-1 WVC; Marshfield 1-3-1, 0-2 WVC.
