SOUTH WHITLEY — The Manchester girls soccer team may have controlled play on the field, but it didn’t correlate on the scoreboard Wednesday at Whitko. Outshooting the Whitko Lady Wildcats (4-2-4) by a 19-8 margin, the Manchester Lady Squires (5-5-1) couldn’t get any of those shots, which included eight on goal, into the net, resulting in a 0-0 draw. “We possessed well, we pressured well and won a lot of 50/50 balls,” Manchester coach Jacqui Erny said. “Overall, we played a good game. We just couldn’t finish.” The two teams met at the Sept. 9 Manchester Invitational, a game Whitko won 3-2 in penalty kicks. Based on that outcome, the tight score wasn’t a complete surprise, but Whitko coach Gary Sims was a bit stunned. “The draw actually was a bit of a shock, just based on the way we played,” he said. “They controlled the ball the whole game. We had some good looks, but it just seems like we can only play like five minutes at a time.” Whitko’s best looks came in the final minute of the opening half. With time winding down, Whitko junior Heather Bryan had a direct kick float toward the goal, only to be knocked out by Manchester senior Kiersten Staley with 1:01 to play, then had another direct kick from Bryan 21 yards out hit the cross bar 10 seconds later. Bryan also had a chance with 4:06 remaining in the game, but a shot sailed just high of the goal. Bryan was allowed the opportunities to score, as the Manchester defense was keying on senior leading scorer Ellyana Blue. “We addressed the team at the beginning of the game about her and (senior midfielder Jenny Brown),” Erny said. “We highlighted those two and marked up, specifically for those two.” Blue entered the game with seven goals, so Sims is aware of what other teams are trying to take away. “They know (Ellyana), they’ve seen her for years,” he said. “We knew that was going to be a factor. She tried not to take it to the corners as much, as she usually does. For two days, we actually practiced nothing but trying to go to the center.” Blue wasn’t able to find the net, but none of the Lady Squires did either. Manchester senior Hayleigh Collett had her team’s top two chances, but both of her headers off corner kicks were saved by Whitko senior goalkeeper Jordan Hall. “A lot of props to (Hall),” Erny said. “She played a very, very good game. We just couldn't finish and that's always very frustrating.” Hall, a center on the Whitko girls basketball team, finished the game with nine saves, none larger than the two headers, which came three minutes apart in the first half. “Jordan’s an animal,” Sims said. “She’s not afraid of anything. She loves it back there. We’re very happy to have her, as tall as she is. A lot of her saves this year have been little bloopers that a lot of shorter people would not have been able to get to.” Those saves kept Whitko out of the loss column, as it’s trying to make due without starting seniors Sydney Sims, Kelly Reiff and Rachelle Whitaker. Sims is out for the season after tearing an ACL in the Manchester Invitational championship game, while Reiff sat out Wednesday’s game with concussion-like symptoms and Whitaker is also out with an injury. Reiff is expected to be back for Saturday’s game at North Miami, and her coach is relieved to get some experience back on the field after starting three freshmen. For Manchester, it’s record of 5-5-1 couldn’t be more even, which isn’t a good thing, according to Erny. “We’re sitting right at .500,” she said. “That’s always hard to deal with, because you’re always wanting to either have the motivation from losing or have the desire to keep winning. We’re just sitting right on the bubble right now. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’re on an upswing right now. Hopefully we can carry that into sectionals.” The Lady Squires hope to turn their record into a winning one following Monday’s home game against Rochester.
MANCHESTER 0, WHITKO 0 Shots – Manchester 19, Whitko 8; Shots on Goals – Manchester 8, Whitko 2; Saves – Manchester (Kiersten Staley) 2, Whitko (Jordan Hall 9; Fouls – Manchester 10, Whitko 4; Corner Kicks – Manchester 6, Whitko 4 Records: Manchester 5-5-1, Whitko 4-2-4
