Schaefers’ goals give Comets win over Middies

During halftime, Amherst coach Gary Gonzalez put some emphasis on attacking a bit more in the second half. Freshman Sydney Schaefer took it to heart.

After a scoreless first half, Schaefer scored just 37 seconds into the second half. She added another one roughly 15 minutes later to propel host Amherst to a 2-0 Division I Elyria District win over Midview Oct. 19. Amherst (13-1-4) will travel to Westlake, which defeated Olmsted Falls, Oct. 23 to play a district semifinal.

“We talked about putting them under pressure right away and going for a goal in the first five minutes,” Gonzalez said. “We could have been dangerous (in the first half) when we were making some 2-v-1, but we weren’t dangerous

enough. In the second half, they decided they were actually going to goal like they meant it.”

It was almost a 1-0 Midview lead at the half with Kylie Cline firing off a shot that hit the crossbar. The Middies (13-4-1) were unable to capitalize on the loose ball and Amherst cleared.

After halftime, the Comets’ offense went to work with their directive.

Right from the second half kickoff, Amherst pushed the ball down into

Midview’s end. A nice pass from Helena Medve to Schaefer put the Comets in scoring position. Unlike the first half, Schaefer ripped her shot past Midivew goalie Ashley Callaway to give Amherst a 1-0 lead with 39:23 left in the second half.

“She’s (Schaefer) a heck of a player,” Gonzalez said. “When she gets into the attacking third; she’s like a shark smelling blood in the water. She snaps to life and all she wants to do is put that thing in the net.”

Controlling the ball in the midfield allowed the Comets to apply continuous pressure to Midview’s defense.

Schaefer was the benefactor with Lexy Alston making a nice crossing pass to just in front of the far post. Schaefer did the rest as she chipped in the goal as Callaway tried to make the save.

“I’ve been playing ever since I can walk,” Schaefer said. “I just go after every ball I can get. It (Winning) feels really good.

“My teammates do most of the work. I just put the ball in the back of the net and make them all proud.”

Having the lead, Amherst’s stingy defense came to the forefront. Unable to penetrate the Comets’ defense, the Middies didn’t get a shot on goal in the second half until the final minute.

The shutout was Amherst’s 12th of the season.

Though the season came to an end, Midview coach Abbey Golden was pleased with what her team put forth.

“We played a resilient game,” Golden said. “We’re a very young team … the fact that it was tied at half says a lot about our young group. When you are against a very seasoned team, I could be nothing but proud of the effort the girls put in.

“If didn’t matter what the scoreboard said, we didn’t stop. We continued to put pressure on them. That’s all I can ask for. If we weren’t going to come out on top, we were at least working hard the entire game.”