SOUTH WHITLEY – It wasn't the prettiest of games, but the Wawasee High School girls soccer team will take it. With their last win coming on Aug. 15 at West Noble, the Wawasee Lady Warriors (3-4-1) snapped a five-game winless streak Wednesday, defeating Whitko (2-4-1) by a 5-3 count in South Whitley. "We needed a win — we just needed to play good," Wawasee coach John Blunk said. And his best player happened to be his daughter. By just outrunning, and outdribbling, the Whitko Lady Wildcats, Wawasee senior Lexy Blunk scored two goals in the opening 11 minutes, going on to score her team's first four. "Lexy had a really good game," her coach/father said. "That's the best game of her high school career — so far." Following those first two goals, Wawasee looked to be comfortably in front, but then a couple flukey things happened. First, a deep throw-in by Whitko senior Cagney Craig landed in front of the Wawasee goal, where freshman Mikayla Findley deflected it enough to get past Wawasee freshman goalkeeper Nicole Streby with 28:17 remaining in the first half. Then, Whitko junior Ellyanna Blue slipped free on the left side and took a shot on goal. As Streby went down for it, it slipped right through her cradled arms, tying the contest at 2-2 with 24:03 remaining in the half. "They got two goals too quick," Blunk said. "I didn't think we should have given up those kind of goals." Blue's goal may have been awarded via a mistake, but Findley's was because of Craig's deep throw-in. Using a flip throw-in, Craig routinely launched the ball 25 yards and was particularly effective when she threw it in toward the Lady Warriors’ goal. "Last year, she was just getting to the side," Whitko coach Gary Sims said about Craig's throw-ins. "Now, we have to worry about the weak side. And she's using it more in the midfield. It's great, but I just hate letting it out of the bag too soon." And with Wawasee struggling to clear the ball, her tosses created plenty of havoc. "Cagney did a good job of getting the ball in there, but we didn't do a good job of getting it out," Blunk said. "That's been our Achilles’ heel all year — not getting the ball out when it's a corner kick or whatever." Despite the two quick Whitko goals, the coach's daughter came back with a late first-half goal, taking advantage of miscommunication between Whitko junior goalkeeper Jordan Hall and two defenders. As the ball rolled in the goalkeeper's box, the Whitko defenders couldn't decide if they should clear it or let Hall retrieve it. While they were deciding what to do, Lexy Blunk hopped in and scored with 1:03 left in the half, regaining the lead for the Lady Warriors. "I've got a lot of new kids," Sims said. "Last year, we had eight seniors that had played ball for a long time and they had good, strong communication. It was easy to coach. This year, we're replacing those players with a lot of multi-sport athletes. Girls that have never played soccer before." One of those multi-sport athletes is Hall, who was playing goalkeeper for the first time after senior Chloe Nestel was lost with a knee injury 18 minutes into the game. Despite her lack of experience, Hall recorded nine saves. "That's the first time she's been in there," Sims said. "We've practiced with her one time. She did a great job. She just wanted to try it." Hall gave up her second goal with just 11:57 remaining in the game, as a free kick by Lexy Blunk from just outside the 18 ricocheted off the post into the back of the net. The two teams exchanged goals in the final minute, but by then, the outcome was decided. "This was our first time ever playing them," Sims said about facing Wawasee. "So, I was worried because I didn't know what to expect. This was the first time we've played this 'through' ball. We haven't seen that yet, so that was great." The 'through' ball meant Wawasee was sending the ball downfield, allowing forwards to track it down and get opportunities on the goal, which worked. In all, Wawasee outshot Whitko 27-13, with 16 of those being on goal. "We had different girls get shots on goal, and that was good today," Blunk said. Wawasee hosts the Culver Girls Academy Saturday at 1 p.m., while Sims continues to get his girls experience when they travel to Manchester on Sept. 13. "The first game we played was rough, but they're getting it," he said.
WAWASEE 5, WHITKO 3 Wa – Lexy Blunk 8th min. Wa – Blunk 11th min. Wh – Mikayla Findley (Cagney Craig) 12th min. Wh – Ellyanna Blue 16th min. Wa – Blunk 39th min. Wa – Blunk (free kick) 69th min. Wh – Blue (Craig) 80th min. Wa – McKenzie Schmitt 80th min. Shots – Wawasee 27, Whitko 13; Shots on Goal – Wawasee 16, Whitko 6; Saves – Wawasee (Nicole Streby) 3, Whitko (Chloe Nestel 1, Jordan Hall 9) 10; Fouls – Wawasee 8, Whitko 4; Offsides – Wawasee 2, Whitko 0; Corner Kicks – Wawasee 3, Whitko 5 Records: Wawasee 3-4-1, Whitko 2-4-1
