Morgantown girls’ soccer team routs John Marshall 9-0

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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Morgantown girls’ soccer team hosted John Marshall on Thursday evening in a matchup that, at least based on overall records, looked pretty on paper.

Looks, however, can definitely be deceiving, as the Mohigans scored within the first minute — tacked on five more in the first half — and cruised to a dominating 9-0 victory.

Collected, strong on the ball, and with a decided speed and skill advantage over the Monarchs (3-2), MHS (3-1) played virtually the entire game in its attacking third, and it put all that offensive possession time to good use.

The dynamic forward tandem of freshman Chloe Ratliff and senior Sammie Brown were especially potent in the first 25 minutes.

On the first goal, Ratliff calmly converted a rebound in the box after John Marshall keeper Isabella Anderson — who made 14 saves on the night — couldn’t control Brown’s strong shot on the rush. A minute later, Brown turned on a loose ball in front and powered a right footed shot that deflected off a defender and in the net. Two minutes after that, it was Ratliff’s turn again, as she broke into the clear on the left side, drove to the left post and tucked a perfectly placed shot off her left foot inside the right post to make it 3-0.

It only took another three minutes before Brown found the back of the net again — this time on a quick turning move at the top of the box that freed some space for a precise right footed blast. Another rebound put it away, this one by sophomore Cara Stout following up Adelle Pacyna’s hard, low shot which closed out the first half scoring.

Up by six after the break, MHS (4-1) continued to possess and generate scoring chances, but didn’t finish any until the final 15 minutes, when Ratliff launched a perfect corner kick onto the head of freshman Kinslee Watkins, who buried a powerful header to make it 7-0 in the 66th minute. Shortly after, fellow freshman Zofia Sabolski drilled a rocket right foot into the corner for the eighth goal and senior Jessica Jones capped it off with a lofted header over the keeper in the final seconds.

After the game, MHS coach Stirlin Rivers was happy with his team’s focused effort.

“This is the kind of game that can sometimes cause bad habits to creep up,” he said. “But I thought we did a good job staying on task. I thought we finished pretty well and we maintained a solid, good brand of quality soccer. I told them to take the right shot when it presented itself, even if they could’ve probably beat another defender or two. They know that we won’t be able to take four or five touches against quality teams. We did a good job with that tonight.”

And the Mohigans won’t have to wait long for that next quality opponent, because they travel to Wheeling Park on Saturday, and senior midfielder Anne Williams knows that the Patriots will bring a hard game to the pitch.

“We’ve had a few easier games this year, but we also had a real wake-up call against Buckhannon-Upshur [a 3-2 MHS loss],” she said. “So that’s why coach is always after us to play fast, play simple, connect to feet and support the ball. We will need to string quality touches together and play calm and hard to win.”

Watkins, a central defender who has plenty of high-level club soccer experience, has heard plenty about Wheeling Park from the upperclassmen.

“I know they have a strong back wall and some talented forwards,” she smiled. “So we’ll have to be ready for our toughest match of the season so far. But we’re excited to see where we stand against them.”

“It won’t just be possession and pretty soccer that wins on Saturday,” Rivers said. “We will have to fight hard, win 50-50 balls, play strong and tough and make them earn everything they get. Because I know they’ll make us do the same.”