Sarah Moore leads Notre Dame to victory at Silverdale [photos]

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/  Notre Dame's Kenzie Campbell (8) fires a shot past Silverdale's McKinzie Marcus (8).  The Silverdale Academy Lady Seahawks hosted the Notre Dame Lady Fighting Irish in TSSAA soccer action on September 10, 2019.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ Notre Dame's Kenzie Campbell (8) fires a shot past Silverdale's McKinzie Marcus (8). The Silverdale Academy Lady Seahawks hosted the Notre Dame Lady Fighting Irish in TSSAA soccer action on September 10, 2019.

After scoring just twice on 19 first-half shots, Notre Dame struck quickly in the second half and won 4-0 in Division II-A East District 2 girls' soccer Tuesday night at Silverdale Baptist Academy.

Junior Sarah Moore sent two splendid crosses to the far left post, where sophomore Riley Mroz finished with a sliding shot and a powerful left foot just 50 seconds apart to double the Lady Irish lead. Just seconds after Mroz's second score, the match was called in the 46th minute due to lurking thunderstorms.

"You just have to keep your head up and work hard because the goals will come," said Notre Dame coach Jim Schermerhorn, who has led the program since 2002. "Our girls are all unselfish. They do a good job looking for each other and finding one another. When they can combine with each other to break down defenders, it's really fun to watch."

Moore stood out in a big way as she had a part in all four goals.

The Lady Irish (6-4, 2-0) displayed great team speed as freshman midfielder Tori Soutuyo and junior right back Kassidy Barta broke away downfield and provided solid distribution.

"Our passing was really strong and we kept our heads up and looked for teammates," Mroz said. "We worked our way toward the goal with great teamwork. I knew I had to attack and finish whenever I got the ball, and Sarah sent two great passes."

With the visitors pushing tempo and enforcing their will in the final third, senior goalkeeper Carrie Patrick of the Lady Seahawks (4-4, 1-1) gave a commendable effort with 11 saves. Patrick made good reads and an outstanding diving stop to her left on a powerful shot from Kenzie Campbell, who was a consistent force in the first half with six shots.

Campbell opened the scoring in the seventh minute as she cleaned up a deflected shot from Moore, who fired from the right goal line.

McKinzie Marcus showed grit on the defensive end for the Lady Seahawks, as she raced downfield to stop a promising run early and provided a physical presence in the box.

Notre Dame played sound defense in withstanding back-to-back corners and two shots in the final nine minutes of the first half.

In addition to setting up teammates for three scores, Moore broke free on the left sideline in the 35th minute, and her shot off the bottom left post bounced in for a 2-0 lead.

"We talk a lot on the offensive end," Moore said. "When we communicate a lot, it really shows. We are good at wall passing and connecting good passes to get wide-open shots. This was a good showing for us on all sides of the ball."

Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.

Upcoming Events