MORGANTOWN — It’s a known fact that 70% of the earth’s surface is covered by water.
University High School girls’ soccer goalkeeper Caitlyn Stout very well might cover the other 30%.
On Thursday, Stout finished with 17 saves to help the Hawks (7-1-1) pick up a 1-0 win over previously undefeated Wheeling Central Catholic.
“Caitlyn has come in, and she’s just a wonderful person and an even better goalkeeper,” UHS head coach Graham Peace said of his star freshman. “We love having her back there, and it just gives the team an incredible confidence. When you have her behind us, we know we can break down every now and then and she’s going to bail us out.”
The best example of Stout’s ability to erase a mistake came with 6:11 left in the game as Wheeling Central was mounting a furious offensive attack. The Knights (9-1) placed a long through ball resulting in a break away opportunity.
Stout met the oncoming attack just inside the penalty box with a sliding tackle to keep the shutout in place.
“I cannot wait to see that on film,” Peace said of the save. “My angle wasn’t good, but that was a great sliding save. She’s a club goalie, and it shows, and we have got her for four years, and we couldn’t be happier.”
Stout said the decision to come out of the goal mouth and attack a breakaway is something she has done quite often in her career.
“It’s definitely not luck,” Stout said. “It’s more skill and bravery. It’s a calculated decision on if I should come out. If my defenders are behind them, I usually go with me tackling (the breakaway).”
Wheeling Central Catholic finished with 35 shots in the contest while the Hawks had just five.
However, UHS was able to make one of their shots count.
Freshman Lauren Goodenow took advantage of a free kick off a Knights’ penalty. Goodenow lined up from 39 yards away and placed the ball just inside the crossbar and out of the reach of the WCC goalkeeper.
“We took advantage of the one chance that we had,” Peace said.
WCC controlled most of the game with the ball in the UHS zone. However, the Hawks were able to suck the Knights in a few times and played long balls over the top for a couple of scoring opportunities.
In the end, it was Goodenow who took advantage of one of those scoring chances.
“They were just controlling the ball so well,” Peace said. “They are such a classy soccer team, and we just held on. I think they got frustrated and that gave us a couple of breaks. Fortunately, Lauren takes incredible free kicks, and she got us one.”
Peace said this was one of the biggest wins in years for his young team that features just two senior starters and only four seniors on the roster with seven sophomores and freshmen starting on Thursday.
“Our entire midfield is all sophomores and freshmen, and they brought a really great amount of energy into our team, and it’s really benefiting us,” Peace said. “I just couldn’t be more happy for the girls, because they really deserved a big win, and they got one.”
UHS returns to action at 10 a.m. Saturday, when it hosts Oak Glen.
— Story by Eric Herter
