The Saline Reporter
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WCA wraps first season at .500 mark
First-year program finishes at 5-5 overall despite 2-0 loss
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 31, 2007
The Washtenaw Christian Academy girls' soccer team hoped to end its inaugural regular season with a big win over visiting Calhoun Christian last Friday.
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Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the Cougars proved to be a little too tough and defeated WCA for the second time in 2007, 2-0. But the loss did little to take the shine off of what has been a more-than-successful first season.
"I think our players have established an identity for this program and we've made some dramatic improvements this season," said head coach Mark Lentz, pointing to the season-opening 3-2 win over New Covenant Christian and later 8-1 victory over the same team. "All of our players are returning and I think the pieces are in place for us to be very successful in the future."
Despite the loss to Calhoun Christian, WCA finished its first season with a .500 record both overall and in Mid-South conference play, going 3-3 in the league and 5-5 overall. A win over the Cougars would have given WCA a winning season and a share of the Mid-South title.
"That's what we wanted — to be in the position where our young players could be playing for something at the end of the season," Lentz said. "Our goal was to win the league and with a year's worth of experience that's what we'll start with as our goal next season."
WCA had lost to Calhoun 2-0 in the teams' first meeting, but started off on the front foot, as an early Wildcat shot from the right side of the box sailed wide.
Unfortunately for the home team, Calhoun asserted themselves as the half progressed and pinned the Wildcats back in their own half. Goalkeeper Lisa Vogel was tested, but kept the visitors out of the net, assisted by a key block by central defender sophomore Leslie Denton.
Vogel, Denton and other defenders — Andrea Tito, Amby Taylor and Carolynn Meader — would go on to keep Calhoun scoreless at the half, while a Kayla Taylor shot with approximately 10 minutes remaining and a dangerous Brittany Shields cross covered by the Calhoun keeper would give WCA some offensive momentum going into halftime.
But it was Calhoun that got on the board first. Taylor had cleared a shot off the goalline to keep the match scoreless momentarily, but less than 10 minutes into the second half, the Cougars scored on a shot just inside Vogel's upper left-hand post.
Midway through the half the Cougars would double their lead on a breakaway goal. WCA's Maria Anderson came within inches of cutting the lead in half, but her shot from a tight angle trickled just wide of the far post.
A Clarissa Grimes throughball nearly found Anderson and Lisa Koller in the closing minutes, and WCA would go on to force a corner kick and earn a shot from Vogel, who had entered the field as Shields took on goalkeeping responsibilities.
But in the end the Wildcats could not find a way through and Calhoun took the two-goal victory.
"When there's that much pressure on the defense, eventually something's going to happen" Lentz said. "But I'm very proud of the effort our girls made today. They played their position and played together as a team. That's all you can ask."
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