Brady's Roadhouse

Both the Waynesburg women’s and men’s soccer teams opened their seasons at Grove City to battle the Wolverines. Grove City came out on top for both games. In the women’s game, Grove City won 3-0,and on the men’s side, Grove City won 2-0. 

Women’s head coach Laura Heethuis gave credit to how Grove City plays.

“Grove City is a very good and organized side, and they were better on the day,” Heethuis said. “We had moments where we were able to string together some passes and dictate play but there was not enough of it.”

Waynesburg played all three of its goalkeepers on the roster. Sophomore Autumn Blair started the game, played the entire first half, and made 6 saves. Sophomore Faith Falick played over 36 minutes in the second half. She gave up 3 goals but recorded 3 saves. Sophomore Kennedy Schuck played the remaining 8:40 in the second half. All three goalkeepers faced a combined 19 shots with 12 of those shots on goal.

“Blair earned the opportunity to start the game and she made some great reaction saves for us. Faith has overcome an injury where her last game she has played was in high school. These were her first minutes back on the pitch since her injury and first minutes in college soccer,” Heethuis said. “Kennedy has been working hard since the day she has gotten to Waynesburg and has made excellent progress. She earned the opportunity to get a few minutes in the net to continue to gain experience against a quality side.”

Freshman Gianna D’amato scored the first goal for Grove City in the 52nd minute. Junior Maggie Williams netted the second goal in the 73rd minute. Junior Tirzah Lloyd added a third goal on a penalty kick in the 77th minute.

Waynesburg only recorded three shots. Heethuis knows her team needs to generate more offense.

“We will continue to work on our shape and formation and learn tendencies of teammates who we have never played a game with,” Heethuis said. “If we can do that, sort out our midfield, and transition more numbers into the attack, we will create a lot of opportunities.

The men’s team had some new faces in the starting lineup. Men’s head coach Brad Heethuis was impressed with how his team played.

“We’ve got a relatively young roster,” Brad Heethuis said. Given that was our first competition together; I thought we did well coming out the first 10,15, 20 minutes and dictating tempo and possession.”

Freshman Hunter Hardin scored the first Grove City goal in the 63rd minute. Fellow freshman Delucia tallied the second for the Wolverines in the 83rd minute.

Senior goalkeeper Adam Dolan made 8 saves for Waynesburg. Heethuis was pleased with his efforts.

“Adam did well for us. First half he did everything asked of him, claiming crosses and making a couple of really good saves,” Heethuis said. “Even the 2 goals we gave up, there was nothing he could do about either of them.”

Heethuis pointed out what his team must improve upon for the next game.

“We certainly need to create more scoring chances,” Heethuis said. “Grove City is a very strong side and they made it difficult for us, but I know we’ve got a lot more attacking potential than we showed on Saturday.”

Both teams host Chatham for a doubleheader next Saturday, March 20. The women’s game kicks off at 1 p.m., and the men’s game starts at 3:30 p.m.