MANTUA–Kirtland powered up in a 5-1 win at Crestwood on Thursday in a game that will have Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division implications in the coming weeks.
The Hornets, who rebounded from a 2-0 loss to Andrews-Osborne Academy earlier in the week, knocked off the two-time Valley Division champions and now remain tied for first place with Berkshire, a team they’ll square off with on Sept. 19.
“It’s a massive win,” said Kirtland head coach Josh Sladick. “Just like I said going into the game against Chardon, to get that type of win, we were building up to set the season on the right tone. This game really set the tone for the conference. Knowing we have to play Crestwood and Berkshire (reigning Metro Division champs), the girls’ focus was to take care of the little things.”
Payton Adkins got the scoring going for the Hornets with her goal in the 24th minute off a pass from Sylvia Vosicky.
Megan Urbanick added to the Hornets’ lead on a corner kick in the 40th minute just before halftime.
Lexi and Sylvia Vosicky both scored a goal in the second half to put Kirtland up 4-0, and Lil Horna closed out the scoring for the Hornets thanks to an Isabel Mueller assist.
Taylor Larch recorded the only goal for the Red Devils in the 74th minute.
The Hornets’ offense set the tone early with two first-half goals before salting the win away in the second with three more.
“I never want us to be in a spot where we have to rely on one person,” Sladick said. “I’ve been very hard on midfielders to be more proactive in the attacking third. I want the girls to have that edge to take an opportunity. Today was a great representation of what we train and any opportunity the girls put it away.”
Once the offense took the lead, they relied on the defense to keep Crestwood off the board until the 74th minute.
“We were able to neutralize Erin Hallis,” Sladick said of his defense. “She’s a great player; we knew she was one of their go-to players. We just wanted to make sure we knew where she was. Our center three did a really nice job of that. We made it complicated for (Crestwood) to be able to break us down.”
Kirtland has several big games on the horizon, including a match with NDCL before taking on Berkshire, who won the Metro Division title a year ago, 12 days later.
With that in mind, coach Sladick knows it is paramount that his team remain focused throughout the season’s tougher tasks.
“We’ve got some great games ahead of us,” Sladick said. “These will give us the opportunity to prepare for the postseason.”
The Hornets’ four-game winning streak was snapped in a 2-0 loss to Andrews Osborne Academy, but it didn’t rattle them as they made the quick turnaround with the win at Crestwood.
“It’s very nice to get a bounce-back win,” Sladick said. “You never want the girls to dwell on a loss in the long term. They were able to come into training yesterday and understand what they did and needed to do differently. Today’s game is a true representation of short-term memory and to come out here and do what we do best. So, the fact we’re able to show this short-rebound after having a bit of a fluke game is more of a compliment to the team than a detriment. It was a whole team effort and win.”
Crestwood drops to 3-2 on the season and will look to get back in the win column on Saturday when it hosts United.
The Hornets will take to the pitch the same day when they visit NDCL.
