It’s been a great learning experience for the Cardinal Huskies girls soccer team in its second season in existence.
That experience has grown by leaps and bounds under coach Brian Gallagher, but has yet to show itself consistently in the win column.
The Huskies saw their tournament run this year halted abruptly by the Conneaut Spartans Oct. 15 in a 5-1 loss, but for a team dominated by underclassmen, they showed vast improvements in every facet of the game.
“Our record, for sure, doesn’t show how much we’ve improved over the course of this season,” Gallagher said as the gusty winds off of Lake Erie blew him toward the team bus for the ride back to Geauga County.
This game was tighter than the score indicates in some ways as Conneaut, while controlling the ball most of the time, was unable to pull away from a tenacious Huskies defense, to the tune of a 2-1 Spartan lead at halftime.
Very young, the Huskies also took on a young Conneaut team (9-5-2).
Conneaut outshot the Huskies by a 25-4 count, and getting the ball beyond midfield was a key factor.
Cardinal’s Anna Blubaugh broke free on a rush downfield but was tripped in the penalty area, and she made the most of her penalty kick by beating the goalie to the upper left corner of the nets to cut the lead in half, at 2-1.
Cardinal’s Rachel Goodridge was a force in that area, and willingly shared how proud she was of the effort of her teammates.
“I can’t say how great I feel with being part of this team,” she said. “The girls have worked so hard to improve this season, especially from where we were last season, and I think we have a bright future for Cardinal girls soccer.”
This attitude is a start to planning next season, too.
Terryann Matheny may have summed it up best: “I came into this team not knowing anything about soccer. I had played kickball a few times, but that was the limit of my experience. I’ve grown so much this season playing with all of these girls, and I think we’re now a soccer team in the best sense.”
The Huskies have, indeed, improved on their ball movement, and have a lot to build on for the future. They played this game with possibly their best overall athlete in goal the entire way, Kayla Valentine, and let the Spartans know for sure that there would be no blowout, as had happened other times in the past.
Expect some fine games from both teams in the near future.