“A goal’s coming. It’s coming,” many of them murmured on the bench.
By Garrett Pogg
There was always a feeling. The bench couldn’t help themselves from saying it.
“A goal’s coming. It’s coming,” many of them murmured on the bench.
Sure enough, it came, as Sydney Hewer (Heidelberg) would take a free kick in the 91st minute of the match, and slide it through the 5-person wall, into the bottom left part of the goal. It couldn’t have been closer to the post. That goal tied the game at 1-1, where Troy City WFC would draw Cap City Athletic to earn their first point in the United Women’s Soccer league.
“I’ve taken a lot of free kicks in the past, and I always end up dragging them wide, so to be able to put one into the bottom corner felt really good,” said Hewer, as she was awarded the Woman of the Match.
This match was a heavy defensive contest for the majority of it, as possessions traded back and forth near the middle of the field, with many Cap City shots blocked by defenders throughout the first half. Goalkeeper Eva Hill (Detroit Mercy) didn’t record her first save until the 35th minute. Troy City struggled to maintain possessions in the attack zone, often mistiming passes and not being in the right position. Still, they managed to keep it 0-0 going into the halftime break.
At the half, Head Coach John Arndt stressed the importance of pushing up more on offense, along with other adjustments, and many players were giving their input on things that were going well, and things they could improve on. Arndt was receptive to the feedback, and encouraged the players to ask questions and give suggestions when they had some. Keira Boskovich (Lourdes) was talking schematics with Arndt when she was subbed out, just before the 1st half ended.
In the 2nd half, it was more of the same, as though the defensive intensity was high, the Troy players still managed to mistime their passes, giving the ball back to Cap City. This game came to a head when a shot deflected off of Hill’s hand, and the rebound slowly crept its way toward the goal before Maddie Fant (Davenport) would finish it off to put Cap City up 1-0 nearly two-thirds into the match.
Still, the TC girls kept their spirits up.
After battling for possessions time and time again, with close shots from Bella Burke (Trine) and Hailey Matthews (Detroit Mercy), Troy City still found themselves down 1-0 with the match coming to a close.
Then, when the main official didn’t notice the foul call from the side judge, it was pointed out by John Arndt with seconds to spare, giving Troy one more opportunity at a goal. Sure enough,
Sydney Hewer put it in, and the bench roared in excitement.
It’s not a win, but in matches like these, you’ll take a draw against a talented Cap City team.
“In your first game, you couldn’t ask for a better outcome,” said Arndt, “1-0, and they kept pushing and got a foul call towards the end, and Sydney put it away, so I couldn’t be more happy.”
Still, there are some improvements to be made, and the Head Coach thinks those will come.
“I think it’s just about getting to know each other, we have 17 different schools represented, so just getting to know how each of their teammates play and operate is a big component of connecting on the field.” Arndt added, “All in all, very solid defensive performance, giving up just the one rebound goal and not a lot of shot opportunities, I thought they played very well.”
Troy City WFC will have their hands full once again this week, as they travel to Brighton to take on the Legends, Thursday at 7pm. Their next home match will be Sunday, June 2nd, when they play the Michigan Jaguars back at Evolution Sportsplex in Auburn Hills at 6pm.
You can follow Garrett Pog on X and Instagram @itsGarrettPog. You can contact him atgarrettpog@gmail.com for any inquiries.