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UHS girls’ soccer team shuts out Bridgeport 2-0

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sure, Bridgeport is in Class AA, so it might be understandable if No. 3 ranked University was expected to roll over the Indians.

However, Bridgeport entered Mylan Pharmaceuticals Stadium with a 10-3-4 record and No. 10 ranking in class AA, so the Hawks were hoping for a quick start and consistent effort against a quality opponent.
Well, one out of two isn’t bad.

UHS’s first wish came true with an early tally in each half in their 2-0 win, but the consistency wasn’t quite up to the usual standards. However, assistant coach Graham Peace supplied a reasonable explanation for some parts of his team’s somewhat disjointed performance.

“We played 24 different players tonight, many in different positions,” Peace said. “While we always want to defend our home field and win matches, the focus this late in the season was on the state playoffs, for both teams. We wanted to get in a good workout and to see what we looked like with some people in different positions just in case of injury.”

While the overall flow of the game was less than ideal, the quality of the goals the Hawks (15-2-1) produced could only be described as superb.

The first goal was a quick strike off the right boot of senior Stephanie Chmiel. After gathering a loose ball, she found the back of the net with a rocket shot into top right corner, giving UHS a 1-0 lead. The remainder of the half suffered from a lack of connection between defense, midfield and forwards — for both teams — and it was the aggressive, hard working Indians that nearly produced the equalizer.

Late in the half, a dangerous ball got loose right in front of the net, but UHS goalkeeper Corinne Grabow was able to smother it. Bridgeport (10-4-4) had another opportunity early in the second half to tie it up when a defensive miscommunication near the Hawks’ goal left an open net, but Bridgeport’s shot slowly rolled just wide of the net.

Shortly after, University was able to extend its lead. Junior midfielder Kassidy Wolfe fed a long, angled pass into space down the right side, giving the perfect chance for Ari Christiansen to sprint to it. Deftly cutting it back toward the middle, she calmly fed a pass to rushing midfielder Eva Bridges, who one-timed a booming shot into the top left corner of the net to give the Hawks a comfortable 2-0 lead.

Both teams had several good scoring chances following after that point of the game, as well. Neither team could finish though, resulting in UHS’s 10th shutout of the season.

“We’re always happy to get a shutout,” Grabow said, whose booming punts shortened the pitch all night. “I’ve been working on coming off my line quicker and harder, making it a little easier on my defense. We had a couple little communication glitches tonight, but getting double-digit clean sheets in a season is a tribute to our whole team’s commitment to defensive soccer.”

Peace, happy with his bend-but-don’t-break defense and the quality strikes, was most pleased with his team’s ability to adjust and adapt.

“They are such an attentive, coachable group,” he smiled. “We made the suggestion to play longer and wider in the second half, and they went out, did it, and produced a terrific goal and several other chances. That’s exactly what you want as a coach.”

UHS finishes up the regular season with a Senior Night at 5:45 p.m. Thursday at home against Parkersburg.