Senior Kaylee Liddle kicked the soccer ball forward towards Brandon High School’s net and scored with 5:01 to spare in last Friday’s game.
The Clarkston fans cheered in the stands as the Lady Wolves briefly celebrated on the field – they all had been waiting for 75 minutes for the goal to break the 0-0 tie.
Another goal made minutes later gave the Clarkston Girls Varsity Soccer team their second win for the week, 2-0.
“I am happy we won,” said Sarah Wasilk, head coach. “I am glad they kept the pressure on and didn’t just give up and settle for a tie. I was hoping once we scored one it would lead to others. I was glad to see that as well. But I am disappointed with the way we played. It took us a while to get started playing together as a unit.”
The girls controlled possession of the ball for 90 percent of the game with defense gaining control when the Lady Blackhawks slipped closer to the net.
A few close breaks came near the end of the first half but nothing making it into the net to count as a point on the scoreboard.
Junior Taylor Stokes opened the last half with a high kick from 30 yards from the net but it was caught by the goalie.
“At the end we came together,” said Liddle. “We came out strong then settled down a bit which we shouldn’t have done.”
After Liddle scored the first goal the excitement in the air increased and the girls put more pressure on their visitors.
“We started thinking we can do this, we are strong enough to do this,” said Liddle. “We kept going and pushing up. We are really a bonded team so once one of us gets started then we all started coming together. It’s a chain reaction.”
With 2:30 left in the game junior Lisa Lyons put the ball in position for a corner kick and sent it into a crowd in front of Brandon’s net.
Liddle struck quickly, shooting the ball in for the second goal of the night.
“She did outstanding,” said Wasilk. “She came ready to play and that is why she got two goals.”
“We came together and came out strong again and that is how we finished,” Liddle added. “We didn’t play to our fullest potential but we did play with heart which we always do. We also played more offensively then defensively.”
The girls put six shots on the net during the night and Brandon was only able to put one shot on the Lady Wolves’ net.
“Our defense is really strong,” Wasilk added. “I was impressed with our defense. They always show up to play.”
The girls claimed a win over Waterford Kettering on April 25, 2-0. Lyons and junior Mikayla Ferer scored a goal each in the win.
They lost to Avondale on Thursday, 1-0, putting their overall record at 2-3-3.
The girls have three games this week as they aim to add more wins to their record.
“We know we are a better team than we played tonight,” Liddle said after Friday’s game. “We are a stronger team. We didn’t play to our fullest potential and stooped out a little bit. We will come out harder and stronger and be ready to go.”
The girls head out for their next round of games. They played Troy-Athens on Tuesday. The Lady Wolves play at Holly on Thursday at 6:45 p.m. and at Groves High School on Friday night, 7 p.m.
“Hopefully it gets their confidence up knowing we are back on the board for scoring,” said Wasilk. “We have some tough games next week so hopefully this is what they needed so they can get the ball rolling in the right direction and get some wins.”