By Garrett Pog
Troy City WFC. Photos captured by Michelle Nartey @mchellnn
As I was driving to the game on Sunday night, I had a worrisome feeling that after the 7-0 loss to the Jaguars in the MPSL league, we were going to see more of the same. After all, they were playing the 2023 UWS National Champions. Luckily, after changing the formation and making use of their reinforcements, Troy City WFC (0-1-2) went toe-to-toe with the Michigan Jaguars (1-0-1) and played them to a 1-1 draw.
The energy from the team was different even before the game started, as John had his team huddled up to make sure everyone was on the same page regardless of whether they started on the field or on the bench. They had more players on the sideline than they’ve had at a game before, so being of the same mindset regarding the 3-5-2 formation and spacing in the midfield was important.
This game was back and forth the entire way, both teams driving down the field and creating opportunities for themselves, with defenses standing strong throughout the first 20 minutes. The Jaguars made it really tough for starting goalkeeper Eva Hill (Detroit Mercy), who made an incredible amount of saves throughout the first half. One of those saves led to a quick turnaround, where McKenna Clouston (Nationals) would connect with Presley Jones (Nationals) 20 yards down the field to give her a 1-on-1 opportunity, which made for an easy goal for the Lawrence Tech commit in the 24th minute.
Jones’s goal gave Troy City WFC their first lead of the season. “It’s really exciting,” Jones said after the game, “I expected to be a little slow coming out of high school, and that’s definitely not what happened.”
Presley Jones set a record at Utica Stevenson, scoring 28 goals in a single season, smashing the previous record at 21. With the rest of her team scoring 22 combined, she accounted for 56% of the scoring output this year on their team, before losing to Fraser in the District Semifinals.
The fast pace in this match continued, as it took less than 5 minutes before some excellent passes gave way to an open shot on Eva Hill, in which the ball bounced off the woodwork towards the ground and back up into the top bar, in which Hill grabbed the ball at the last possible moment before it crossed the goal line. A millisecond later, and the scoreboard would’ve looked different.
Active substitutions from John Arndt’s club would keep the active pace going, as both teams were running quite a bit to either aid the scoring chance or to prevent the counterattack. Eva Hill continued to work hard, using every limb to block shots that weren’t contested by Sydney Hewer (Heidelberg) and Avery Sikorski (Ferris State). Ella Matthews (Catawba) was a thorn in the side of the Jags all night long.
The TC squad would slide into halftime up a goal, which is a huge improvement over the last couple games. Still, the energy in the halftime huddle was the same, with a lot of positive feedback from Head Coach John Arndt, while still looking to make improvements in the shifting and placement on the field in certain scenarios. He even brought out the magnetic soccer board, which allowed the players to visualize their thoughts and position the pieces as to where the midfielders and forwards should be in certain scenarios.
Coming into the second half, Emmy Rodger (Lourdes) would get the nod at keeper, as was intended prior to the game starting. She would not have any time to settle in, as the coordinated Jaguars would move the ball quickly, forcing her to be alert from the get-go. As many shots were blocked and saved, the defense could only bend so much before allowing an across-the-box goal from speedster Shannon Brown (Oakland) after 68 minutes.
Still, the spirits were still high from Troy City, as the bench continued to be actively participating in the match, as well as the fight from the players on the field, pushing for the ball at all times. Where the Jaguars beat them in talent and speed, the Troy City girls matched them in effort and heart.
After many fantastic saves by Rodger, and plenty of shots on goal from many players for Troy City, time would expire, as both teams had to settle for a point after working relentlessly all game.
After disappointing performances from Troy City the past two outings, there was certainly a change in the atmosphere at Evolution Sportsplex. This was a team that communicated better, shifted better, and worked really hard to give themselves the most opportunities on offense. Even though they have yet to win, a draw against arguably the best team in the UWS is very impressive. The message from John Arndt to his team after the game was simple. “You can compete with anyone...those last two games are not us.”
I asked what Arndt’s thoughts were on the biggest shift from Thursday to Sunday. “The energy for sure. You could feel it on the bench, our girls were all focused, and our formation was really good. It allowed us to be defensive minded, while also being on the attack. Being energized is a great thing, and sometimes it’s the difference maker in these games.”
The Player of the Game would be split 3 ways, as Presley Jones, along with the two goalkeepers, Eva Hill and Emmy Rodger were all recognized for their impressive effort. “Emmy had 4 crazy saves throughout this match, and Eva Hill was very solid as well...they’re very important to our back line.”
Their back line will be tested again this Thursday, as they travel to Schoolcraft to play the Michigan Hawks, a staple in Girls Soccer in the Metro Detroit area. That game starts at 5pm, while their next home match will be Thursday, June 13th at 6pm in the UWS against the 0-1 Michigan Burn.
You can follow Garrett Pog on X and Instagram @itsGarrettPog. You can email him at garrettpog@gmail.com for any inquiries.
Photos captured by Michelle Nartey @mchellnn
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