By By DON EDEN / Niles Daily Star
EDWARDSBURG – It took six years for the girls soccer team to win the Edwardsburg Invitational which they host, but the Eddies were crowned champions after downing Comstock 3-1 and Bridgman 2-1 in the championship game Saturday morning.
Brandywine (6-6-2) won the consolation game with a convincing 4-0 victory over Comstock as Emily and Samantha Low scored all the Bobcat goals.
The Bobcats were stung by the Bees 1-0 in the first game as senior Sarah Svoboda scored late in a scramble in front of the net.
"The game was pretty physical as each team went hard every game, with Bridgman being very competitive and we know each other well," said Brandywine coach Evan Winkler. "We controlled the possession 75 percent of the time but hit the top post and the goalie made a couple good saves."
Edwardsburg (10-1-1) was held without a goal in the first half against Comstock (3-10) but had a baker dozen of shots and scored four shots into the second stanza as senior Miriam Agudo knocked in the ball with a mass of people in front of Colt goalie Kristen VanGoeye.
It only took the next shot to dent the net as freshman Aly Mooth controlled the ball from 20 yards out after taking a pass from junior Brea Eden.
The only shot of the game for the visitors was rewarded as senior Stephanie Larson sent a 20 yard direct kick over junior goalie Christina Hans with just under three minutes to play. Aly redirected a pass from senior sister Amanda Mooth with thirty seconds left.
"Our top scorer has a sprained ankle and our second leading scorer is hurt so our sweeper (Larson) came up for the shot and happy she scored," commented Comstock coach Lee Gilbert. "Edwardsburg beat us to the ball and had more opportunities because of it but both teams played hard."
"Everything is positive as we played the entire game as a team and the game of soccer is creating good opportunities," Edwardsburg coach Ryan Rosenkranz stated. "We played real well but hope Christina (Davenport) gets better as she sprained an ankle."
Bridgman (9-6) was out for revenge after being defeated by the Eddies 6-0 earlier in the week and Svoboda took a shot 30 seconds into the contest that Hans had to kick away from reaching the net.
The Eddies scored nine minutes into the game as the Mooth sisters and Eden combined on a beautiful passing play from midfield that Aly sent past Bee keeper Brandi Gareau, who was hurt on the play and replaced by Svoboda. Aly scored just under three minutes later as she found the lower left corner of the net.
"She (Gareau) got kicked on top of the head and we feared of a concussion but should be okay after a nice headache," said Bridgman coach Woody Woolery. "We played with desire and heart all day against two good teams and hopefully it stays the rest of the year and into the districts."
Edwardsburg was held scoreless the rest of the game as seniors Danielle Bachleda and Ariel Piotter made things interesting with a goal with 6:30 remaining.
"Bridgman never gave up and it was tough the whole game but everybody is playing well with our forwards getting turnovers on defense to create more offense," noted Rosenkranz. "This is a good group of girls, who have played a lot of soccer and are making me look good."
The Eddies had 51 shots total compared to five for their opponents in the two games and have a home meeting with Brandywine Monday at 5 p.m. that would clinch the Lakeland Conference with a tie or win.
"We are looking forward and are excited about the challenge to play them," commented Winkler.
"Brandywine is always a big game and they come to play and only beat them 1-0 the first game," concluded Rosenkranz. "This team has good senior leadership and the freshmen are playing older with experience."
The Bobcats outshot the Bees 11-5 in the first contest and had the same number of shots against Comstock which were held to three.
"We played an excellent first 20 minutes and scored all four goals and responded real well after losing a tough game with Bridgman," added Winkler. "The ball movement was a lot better with good passing and our communication was much better."