By Bryan Davis
bdavis@dailylocal.com
@btdavis25 on Twitter
WEST GOSHEN >> It took nearly 72 minutes for the West Chester Henderson girls soccer team to break down the resolute West Chester East defense, but a crack eventually developed.
Freshman Maiya Hoffman broke a scoreless tie in the second half as the Warriors staved off their crosstown rival, 2-0, in a Ches-Mont League National Division contest Thursday at Harold I. Zimmerman Stadium.
The Warriors (7-0, 10-1) won for the second straight time after losing to Central Bucks East on Sept. 23.
East fell to 2-3 in the National and 2-7 overall, but coach Shannon Mueller was as happy as a person could be after a loss.
“I am more than happy with the effort, absoultely,“ said Mueller. “It was fight from minute one all the way to minute 80. My girls did the best they could, starting from the goal to the back line all the way to the front. They fought tooth and nail. I was very pleased with the performance, regardless of the result. It’s the best my team’s played all season.”
East came to start the second half pretty much the way they began the game, they kept Henderson hemmed in its end, getting the better of the possession, even if that did not translate into prime scoring opportunities.
“Shannon set them up extremely well,” said Henderson coach Stephen Norris. “They were in a really good block. They forced us to be really good with our touches and when we made mistakes, they transitioned quickly. Credit to them, they were fantastic.”
The best East chance in the first 15 minutes came off a corner that found Maeve Mullen from about 15 yards out and went high and wide. They also had a good effort when freshman Ella Foster stole a weak backpass, but her shot from distance went straight into the arms of Henderson goalkeeper Allison Werner.
The pendulum would eventually swing back into Henderson’s favor. Junior Maura Fisher had a chance as she launched a shot from about 20 yards that went wide and didn’t trouble Savannah Holman in goal.
The breakthrough finally came with 8:27 left. Off a free kick just inside East’s half, a flick on header sent the ball to Morgan Chiazza at the edge of the penalty area. Her shot was stopped by Holman, but Hoffman turned in the rebound for the game’s opening goal. The East bench thought it looked offside, but the goal stood to give Henderson the lead.
“I always go up for corners, but I typically play defense,” said Hoffman. “I don’t normally score, so that was a big win for me.”
“About 22 minutes in (the second half) they really started to pick it up,” added Norris. “The confidence started to build. They were tenacious, and were able to poke one through.”
East pushed forward looking to tie it up, but the Henderson defense held firm and allowed only one shot on goal the rest of the way.
“Our defensive back five is terrific,” said Norris. “They’ve been great for us all season limiting big goal games. The two center backs are oustanding. Hailey (Meade) and Sasha (Okcuoglu) were great tonight and our left back Emily (Westbrook) was awesome.”
“I think it was just playing until the end,” added Fisher. “We had a rough start in the second half, but we able to get it back together and go for those 50-50 balls, win the battle in the midfield and get the goal.”
With just a tick over a minute left, Henderson put it away. A long clear ticked off an East defender. Jacqueline Kincade controlled it and broke in alone when she slotted a shot into the corner for the 2-0 lead.
Henderson ended with a 10-4 advantage in shots, but most of them came from distance.
This could be a game that can be pivotal in turning East’s season around and make them very difficult to play the rest of the way.
“I told the girls that today is a turning point for them,” said Mueller. “If they continue to play the way they did, we’re going to win games.”
West Chester Henderson 2, West Chester East 0
WC Henderson 0 2 — 2
WC East 0 0 — 0
WC Henderson goals: Hoffman, Kincade.
Goalie saves: Werner (WCH) 3; Holman (WCE) 4.
