Girls soccer rallys to stomp Eisenhower comeback hopes

By Jim Newell

Review Editor

Lake Orion girls varsity soccer team is coming off a stellar season last year, finishing with a 15-5-2 record, winning a district title and placing second in the OAA White, one loss behind Royal Oak in league play even though the Dragons had a better overall record.

With that success comes a new season of challenges: the Dragons have been elevated to the Oakland Activities Association (OAA) Red division, the league’s top division.

Lake Orion opened the season with three away league games against the Rochester schools, losing 0-1 to Rochester High School (2-0 league, 4-0 overall) in the opening game of the season. They then lost 1-2 to Stoney Creek (1-2, 3-2) and 0-2 to Rochester Adams (1-2, 4-2) on April 12.

Despite the losses, the scores are encouraging, showing the Dragons are competitive against three longstanding OAA Red teams. The seven team Red division also includes Troy High School, Troy Athens and Bloomfield Hills.

On Thursday, Lake Orion took on the Utica Eisenhower Eagles at home and earned their first victory of the season, 4-2.

Coach Amanda Hutchinson said she is grateful to see the Dragon’s notch their first victory of the season.

Hutchinson, who has been an assistant coach for five seasons, is acting head coach until head coach Chris Corteg returns.

“It’s been a little rough. Our first four games have been against very good teams, but we’ve been in all of them. The first two games we lost by one goal (each) and the third by two (goals), which is better than I anticipated, but we’ve been in every game. And I think that’s more disappointing than the losses because we’ve had the chance to win but we just couldn’t pull it off, we just couldn’t put something in the net,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson said one of the main strengths about this year’s team is “that they don’t quit.” She also pointed out that the Dragons have a good passing game. “When we’re connecting passes, we can make other teams chase and that obviously wears them down and creates scoring opportunities for us.”

While the Dragons are a relatively young team, they do have experience. Many of the girls were on the team last year and are looking forward to more playing time and contributing this year.

Senior forward Annamarie Fosmoen is the Dragon’s scoring threat up top and is expected to continue finding the back of the net, just as she did last year.

Senior Bridget Finneran is one of the captains this year and helps the Dragons control play in the midfield, contributing offensively and defensively. Along with Finneran, Hutchinson said senior midfielder Sarah Hoenshied will provide valuable leadership.

Hutchinson also said she expects Brook Blackstock to be a solid presence on the defensive end for the Dragons.

“She’s only a sophomore but she’s definitely a leader on the field. She played just about every minute of every game last year (as a freshman) and I anticipate that from her this year. And she’s sort of coming into her own. She’s starting to be more of a leader on the field.

“Those are our four returning players who are really leaders on the field,” Hutchinson said.

While playing tougher opponents this season will be a challenge for the Dragons, the competition should help prepare them for postseason play.

“We’re still growing and I think we’re getting better each game. Today (against Eisenhower) we were finally able to put something in the net. We scored more today than we had in the first three games. So, I am optimistic about the season. Just because we’ve been moved up to the Red and because we have a younger team, our goal is more focusing on the postseason. We know we’re going to struggle a little bit being in the Red just because the teams are so competitive and so good, but I think we’re looking toward the postseason and district play,” Hutchinson said.

“I’m looking for us to stay healthy. And, even through the losses, are we developing as a team? Are we getting better?” Hutchinson said, adding that the team has a positive outlook.

Lake Orion vs. Utica Eisenhower

Both teams played a competitive back-and-forth game throughout the first half. With 20 minutes left in the game, the score remained tied at 1-1.

Senior forward AnnaMarie Fosmoen broke the tie with 12:53 left in the game, giving Lake Orion the 2-1 advantage.

Eisenhower, however, stormed down the field keeping the pressure on the Dragons and tied the game 2-2 a little over two minutes later with 10:36 remaining.

The Dragons were visibly dejected after the tying goal, but rebounded, keeping the pressure on Utica until sophomore Erin Regalia deflected a shot past the Eagles goalie for Lake Orion’s third goal at 8:10.

Fosmoen sealed the victory with 5:57 remaining, notching the Dragon’s fourth goal and her third of the game.

Freshman goalie Kylie Kopitzki had a solid game behind a strong Lake Orion defense of Brook Blackstock, Natalie Borg and Megan Witt.

Raider Invitational

The Dragons competed in the Flushing Raider Invitational on Saturday, defeating Royal Oak 1-0, playing to a scoreless tie against Linden and shutting out Flushing 3-0. Lake Orion is now 3-3-1 overall.

Lake Orion was scheduled to take on Troy Athens on Tuesday after Review press time. The Dragon’s next home game is 7 p.m. Thursday against Oxford.