The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Kirtland girls soccer gets boost in midfield
Aria Evans-Roskos has given the Hornets’ already strong offense another option after playing at Walsh Jesuit her freshman and sophomore seasons. Chris Lillstrung has the story.
It wasn’t as if Kirtland was lacking in attacking options as it was heading into this fall.
Paced by 2018 NewsHerald girls soccer player of the year Maya Zovko and standout sophomore and fellow all-Ohioan Erika Zschuppe, the Hornets can reasonably eye a potential third straight run at the Division III state final in 2019 with the belief the offensive-third play will be dynamic.
A new addition this fall, though, made the rich in this case even richer.
Kirtland has been buoyed by the addition of midfielder Aria Evans-Roskos, a transfer from Walsh Jesuit. The junior midfielder, after the Hornets’ 3-0 win at Wellington on Sept. 9, has six goals and five assists thus far.
Evans-Roskos, who was at Walsh her freshman and sophomore campaigns in longtime coach Dino McIntyre’s vaunted program, has been welcomed into the Hornets’ side with proverbial open arms.
“It’s really fun,” EvansRoskos said after a 5-0 win Sept. 5 over Orange. “It’s my first year, so I’m really excited, and everyone has been warm and welcoming. I think we’re doing pretty well.
“It was really different. I love Walsh as it is. It’s great competition, and coming here, it gave me a lot of confidence. I got a lot of knowledge from Walsh, and I’d like to bring it here and help the others. It’s really fun. I like it.”
Evans-Roskos has shown promise in the side in a role Kirtland coach Ed Bradac and the Hornets faithful will like and then some.
Against the Lions, for example, the junior was an assertive ballwinner with a keen sense for distribution and outstanding throw-in potential. She sprung Zschuppe on a lovely through ball for her side’s opening goal, seeing Zschuppe’s pacey diagonal run right away. She then added a penalty kick late.
Orange’s midfield shape, with numbers pressing up into the middle of the park, required an adjustment with service to more diagonal flow, which Evans-Roskos and the side did nicely.
And with the versatility in the starting 11, the Hornets can move personnel to thrive tactically matchto-match.
“It was kind of hard in the middle, because they usually had three and we had two,” Evans-Roskos said of the Orange match. “Maya and I had to keep marking each other to help each other back. But when we went diagonal and beat them and cut around, it worked out really well.
“(Our versatility is) really nice, because (senior starters) Lidia (Rodin) and Lilia (Valentic) are out, so we need people to step up. Some of the players stepped up today who are younger, and it really helped us. Because when we’re versatile, it makes us better as one.”
Bradac commended the effect Evans-Roskos has had on his side, not only on the pitch but off.
“I think it’s all of it,” Bradac said. “She comes to us, and you would think she was with us from the time she was in kindergarten all the way until today. She is such a great addition to the team, and I say not just soccer-related — just her as a human being. She’s got that presence. She’s got that it factor.
“She does such a beautiful job distributing the ball. She plays within herself. She doesn’t try to do more than what she needs to. She does a wonderful job winning balls in the air, winning balls in midfield. She can hit a shot from 30 yards out.”
And she can add to the chemistry of a Hornets side that wants to take that elusive next step in 2019 after two straight D-III state runner-up finishes.
Evans-Roskos has noticed a difference in the attacking quality of her side from Kirtland’s first match, a 4-0 win Aug. 16 at Madison, to now as the Hornets remain unbeaten.
And overall, the feeling is certainly mutual.
“We’re more hungry,” Evans-Roskos said. “I feel like we want it a lot.
“We’re really different from the first game, because we didn’t know how to play together. The chemistry was off, but we still pulled out a win. Coming to now, it’s really nice to see how well it played out.”