Stoney Creek beats Athens, 2-0, in battle of OAA Red unbeatens
ROCHESTER HILLS >> The Stoney Creek Cougars edged out the Troy Athens Red Hawks 2-0 in a battle of previously unbeaten teams Thursday night.
The Cougars got on the board with 17:32 remaining in the first half when Kaeli Butcher whipped a corner kick into the box and Lilley Bosley rose up on the far side to head the ball in.
Stoney Creek made it 2-0 late in the game. Olivia Lombardo sent a long ball over the top and Madeline McGinlay outraced everyone to chip the ball past the goalkeeper and into the open net.
“That’s what has been our strength this year. We get some goals and defend well, absorb a little bit (of pressure)” Cougars head coach Bryan Mittelstadt said. “We’ve been able to throw some different players up top at different times, and we have a really good goal scorer on the spots, so that always helps.”
That was all the scoring in an otherwise tightly contested game.
“It was a really good OAA Red soccer game. Chances were at a premium, and difference was their finishes on set pieces — a corner kick and a long throw,” Red Hawks head coach Todd Heugh said. “We had our share of corner kicks and long throws, and we didn’t make do on any of those.”
Athens had the better of possession in the second half, and the Red Hawks finished the game with more corner kicks that Stoney Creek and had more shots on goal than the Cougars after halftime.
But the experienced Cougar defense anchored in the middle by Butcher at her defensive midfield position had all the answers to the questions posed by Troy Athens’s attackers.
“I thought we came in with our mindset focused and well prepared to handle whatever they were going to throw at us,” Mittelstadt said. “It’s nice having five seniors back there.”
Hannah Dombrowski turned in a strong performance for Athens, playing strong in the middle of defense and also coming up to midfield to help settle things at times. But the Red Hawks’ inability to find a goal eventually proved to be their undoing.
With the win, Stoney Creek improves to 5-0 overall, and 3-0 in the always tough OAA Red. Next up for Stoney Creek is a road trip to Midland Dow on Friday and then take most of next week off before facing Hartland in another non-league road match a week from Saturday.
“I was pleased by the effort from players. I knew they were struggling with little dings here and there. And they stood up and gave everything they had,” Mittelstadt said.
Troy Athens is now 4-1-1 overall and 1-1 in OAA Red. The Red Hawks host Macomb Dakota on Saturday before resuming league play on Monday against Clarkston.
“We’ve been good at finishing chances this year, and we’ve only given up one goal. So this is the first time we’ve given up two goals in a game, and it’s the first time we’ve been shut out this year. It’s all part of that long journey. So how will we learn from this? How will we get better?” Heugh said.