Spartans soccer girls go 1-1 on week
The Orono girls’ soccer team took on two rivals and earned one win and one loss.
Senior Hannah Deters (number 19) eludes a Wildcat Sept. 6. Orono beat Waconia 3-0. (Photo by Mike Bash)
The girls played conference rival Waconia Sept. 6 and came away with a strong 3-0 win. Sophomore Sophie Babo scored two goals and senior Nikki Smith added another. The win avenged a disappointing loss on the Spartan’s home field to Waconia last year.
“All the returning players were devastated when we lost to Waconia last year at home, this was a great win for us,” Coach Erin Murray said. “Waconia is a strong program and challenged us throughout the game. I was happy with how our team stepped up today.”
A crowd of more than 150 fans came out Sept. 8 to watch the fourth ranked Spartans take on their section rival, second ranked Benilde-St. Margaret’s. The Knights earned this victory with a score of 5-1.
The final score is not indicative of the closeness of the game or how well Orono played for the first 60 minutes. Orono’s lone goal came on a blistering free kick by Sophie Babo that neither the Knight’s defense nor goalkeeper could touch.
Midway through the second half, with the score tied 1-1 Benilde quickly scored three times including a free kick, a penalty kick and a corner kick (the third kick of three corner kicks in a row). While the wind gusting to over 30 mph didn’t help, Orono struggled to get shots on goal with only three for the game.
“We dominated the first half,” Coach Murray said. “We played as a team and really threatened Benilde. The second half was a different story, we lost a lot of confidence when they went up 2-1. The score doesn’t reflect how close this game was overall. We have learned from this loss and will move. Hopefully we will get a chance to prove our strength in sections”
