Strong second half propels Hawken to win

Hawks junior Gorjanc has two goals, two assists

Hawken blew open a scoreless stalemate with a sterling second-half surge to record a 4-0 win over visiting Kirtland in a CVC Chagrin headliner Aug. 24.

Standout junior midfielder Laura Gorjanc had a hand in all four goals — scoring a pair and assisting on the other two.

“We were able to come out from the back more often and penetrate in the middle third without making turnover after turnover after turnover,” Hawks coach Anton Trifonovs said of second-half improvement in attacking end product.

Hawken (1-1) opened its account in the 45th minute, when Gorjanc capped a pacey run on the right flank with a cross far post for Allison Cohen, who slotted her finish for a 1-0 lead.

Hawken added two goals in a 21-second span of the 57th to seize control. Gorjanc fed Lindy Bobrow, and the freshman delivered a lovely left-footed strike from the top of the box. Gorjanc got her brace with goals in the 57th and 66th.

Hawken, which fell in its season opener Aug. 22 to Madison, 2-0, was crisp in its attacking flow virtually throughout and had a 10-3 edge in shots on target.

“In the first half, we were struggling with the finishing aspect,” Gorjanc said. “In the second half, we were able to keep control of the ball, start in the back, work our way up and we were able to get those four goals.”

Coming soon

For more — a profile of Gorjanc’s growth into a primary cog in Hawken’s attack — check back in the coming days on News-Herald.com and in our print edition.