Zydek, Hersey spoil Cary-Grove's opener
It was certainly a maximum effort.
But it wasn't the results the Cary-Grove girls soccer team was looking for in its season opener in Cary Monday afternoon.
Hersey, however, got just what it was after. Eileen Zydek scored twice as the Huskies improved to 4-0 with a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Trojans in nonconference action.
“The effort will always be there with this team,” said Trojan coach Ray Krystal. “They gave a quality effort, but we were a little inconsistent. Hersey is a quality team to open the season with, but we want to play good teams all the time. There were a lot of positives out there, and we know it is a process. It is only March and we want to get better every day in practice and in every game.”
Hersey got on the scoreboard first with 16:45 left in the first half.
On a scramble in front of the net, Hersey's Eileen Zydek was able head the ball past the outstretched arms of Cary-Grove goalkeeper Krystal Felderman to give the Huskies a 1-0 advantage. That was the score at halftime.
The Trojans created two good scoring opportunities in the first half on Hersey goalie Erin Reiff.
With 22:50 left in the first half, Beth Hughes took a pass in front of the net off a good feed from Allie Simon. But Hughes' shot sailed over the net.
The Trojans had a good chance to score late in the first half off a corner kick. Grace Meehan launched a kick from the left side toward the goal, but Liz Koch's header went wide.
The visiting Huskies grabbed a 2-goal lead with 26:33 left when Zydek scored her second unassisted goal of the game.
The feisty Trojans refused to quit, and Hughes sliced the Huskies' lead in half with an unassisted goal with 16:39 left.
The Trojans had 1 more good chance to score, but Korey Kronforst's uncontested shot from 10 yards out went left of the net with 8:38 left.
Both teams fired 7 shots on goal. Reiff collected 4 saves for the Huskies while Felderman stopped 3 shots for the Trojans.
“We were a little fortunate, but Cary-Grove is a good team and a very fast team,” said Hersey coach Brad Abel. “This game is good preparation for our conference opener against Elk Grove. I thought we settled down defensively in the second half and didn't give them many good shot. It was a good win for us.”