Early Lewis strike propels Mayfield

Cassie Lewis’ first-half strike proved decisive as Mayfield edged visiting Mentor, 1-0, Sept. 16 in a renewal of the Division I powers’ regular-season tilt.

The reigning threetime D-I district champion Wildcats (7-2) are now 5-0-1 in their last six matches against the Cardinals (7-3).

“We’ll take it against one of the big East Side powerhouses in Mentor,” Mayfield coach Matt Lubin said. “When you said 5-0-1 recently, it hit me like, ‘Wow, that’s impressive. Great job, girls.’ It’s hard to believe.

“It’s a great program — they play tough every game, and to get out of here with a shutout is really unbelievable. We’re really proud of that.”

Amid a physical match overall, Lewis provided the final margin in the fourth minute. The Wildcats’ talented junior striker made a piercing run through the heart of her offensive third as an Allison Patrick free kick took a bounce. Lewis latched onto it and slotted her finish for her team-high eight goal of the fall.

“I saw the ball being played, and I saw (Catherine Rock) running, but I saw she had a man next to her, so I worried whether or not she was going to be able to get onto it or not or if the man was going to get it,” Lewis said. “So I was already on my way over there, I knew I would be able to get it and slide it back. So I definitely took my touch to the outside and just hit it with the inside of my right, just back to that far post because I saw the goalie was coming out to me.

“I definitely thought we outplayed them in the first half. We definitely came out stronger, and that really helped us get started at a good pace and pretty much dominate the first half. Second half was a little shakier for us — we did start off a little slower, but toward the end, we definitely kept it up.”

Coming soon

For more from this match, check back in the coming days on News-Herald.com and in our print edition. High school scoreboard