Wootton soccer achieves goal vs. Sherwood

Wootton (4-1-0) has been a defense-oriented team the last four years. With four-year starting keeper Kira Maker, who boasted a 0.31 goals-against average in 2006 and is now in her freshman season at Stanford University, defending the net and several strong defenders in front of her, the Patriots only needed one or two goals each game.

Wootton still has a strong back line, anchored by senior defenders Katie Duncan and Schuyler Cosby, who led last year’s defense (only six goals given up in county competition), as well as talented goalie Sarah Harper, who shared some starting duties with Maker last year.

But it knows it has to be a little more offensive-minded than in the past, taking some more chances in the attack. And, though finishing scoring opportunities has been a struggle the last few years, the Patriots have taken advantage of their chances in 2007.

In fact, Sherwood (1-3-0), which defeated defending Class 4A West Region champion Quince Orchard 2-1 last Tuesday, spent more time on offense than Wootton Thursday, especially in the second half. But the Patriots were more productive in the final third, constructing more organized and efficient runs.

Wootton capitalized on its first and only corner kick in the 21st minute when sophomore midfielder Allison Yeager headed home sophomore defender Molly Berman’s perfectly placed set-up from the right side, back into the right corner of the net for her team-leading third goal of the year.

‘‘It’s like every year we say, ‘If we don’t do it this year, we’re not going to do it next year’ and the girls get a little bit older, a bit better and stronger and come out and surprise us,” Wootton coach Chris Thompson said. ‘‘It’s huge for us to get off to a good start. We have a lot of new players. I think if we had given up a whole bunch of goals in the first couple games, I don’t know if we’d recover. But I think at this point, the shadow of Kira is gone.”

The Patriots have only scored 11 goals this season, and about 75 percent of those have been off set plays. But, being able to take advantage of those opportunities often makes the difference, as it did Thursday.

Sherwood, still looking for some consistency with only four returning starters, certainly had its chances. Senior midfielder Leilani Halkiotis set her teammates up with a corner kick and two free kicks placed directly in front of the net in the last 15 minutes of regulation, but no one was there to finish.

The Warriors know how to get the ball up field. They just haven’t been effective enough in the final third. But that comes with experience. And they just don’t have enough of it yet.

‘‘Our main concern is playing as a team,” Halkiotis said. ‘‘We have a good set of individuals but we need to learn to make that talent work as a whole and putting it together on the field. We do a good job of fighting for the ball. Now, the last thing is focusing when we get into the box, finishing the ball. It’s all about finesse in the box and finishing. Once you get up there, you’ve got to finish it.”

Wootton hasn’t been able to rely on offensive consistency the last several years. But its balanced attack has already proven to be a strength this year — six players have scored the team’s 11 goals.

‘‘Taking advantage of those scoring chances is key,” Thompson said. ‘‘In the past, we’ve been really strong on defense but haven’t had the offensive punch to get through teams. But we’ve really been working with our forwards to get them to get to the right spots.”