PREP SOCCER

Generals stay unbeaten in NLL

Anthony Wayne tops Panthers

Maumee's Claudia Woolford, left, and Anthony Wayne's Kelsey Combs fight for possesion of the ball.

THE BLADE/LORI KING
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Correction: Maumee dropped to third in the NLL.

Anthony Wayne clamped down in the second half of another tightly-contested Northern Lakes League girls soccer match Wednesday as the Generals captured a key road win.

Anthony Wayne protected a 1-0 lead over Maumee until the Generals scored the pivotal second goal midway through the second half. AW rode the momentum to a 3-0 shutout of the Panthers to remain tied atop the NLL standings.

Anthony Wayne senior Jessie Mattimoe scored on a terrific individual effort to give the Generals a 2-0 lead with 21:48 left in the game. Mattimoe split two Panther defenders, got herself free to beat Maumee goalie Jacq Korsog.

“I just stayed composed and slotted it in the corner,” Mattimoe said. “It was determination. I think that changed the pace of the game.”

Anthony Wayne (6-3-1 overall) kept pace in the NLL (3-0-1) with Perrysburg (3-0-1) and defeated Maumee for the first time in three years. Maumee (5-2-1) fell to third in the NLL (1-1-1).

“We knew this wouldn't be an easy victory,” AW coach Lori Williams said. “I thought they had the run of play in the first half. Our whole back line shored things up near the end of the first half and in the second half we played a much better game.”

Quality scoring chances were abundant in a well-paced first half. The Generals had nine shots, while Maumee had eight.

“It's a disappointing final score,” Maumee coach Holly Hamilton said. “But honestly I can't be mad at my girls. They played well. From time to time I was thrilled. My girls were solid.”

The Generals scored on their first shot of the game. Korsog came out to play the ball but Abby Allen was able to boot it by Korsog for a 1-0 lead 5:31 into the contest.

The Panthers nearly tied it on a shot by Olivia Dameron, who took a good pass from Maddy Woolford. AW goalie Taylor Hill, who had eight of her 10 saves in the first half, came out and made a two handed stop on Dameron's shot with 15:30 to go in the first half.

Anthony Wayne's Jessie Mattimoe, left, congratulates Abby Allen after Allen scored the first goal against Maumee. The Generals are 6-3-1, 3-0-1 in the NLL.

After the Generals' Susan Nutter hit the post with a shot late in the first half, Dameron nearly scored for Maumee with 3:23 left but her shot rolled just wide left.

“We preach tight defense,” Williams said. “We wanted to keep that zero. They have some attacking players that are really special with [Erica] Tullis and Woolford. We respect them tremendously.”

The Generals played the second half closer to the vest. Mattimoe took the wind out of Maumee's sails with her hustle goal.

“She is such a scrappy player,” Williams said. “That was all heart and work from her. It was a great goal.”

Nutter, a senior, put a bow on the win with a shot from about 30 yards out that sailed over Korsog's head with 6:35 remaining.

Hamilton said the game was back and forth until Mattimoe's goal.

“After the second goal they all sunk,” Hamilton said.

Each team has 10 seniors.

“Of course it's devastating to the seniors,” Hamilton said. “I know this is their first loss to Anthony Wayne. But everyone is still in [the NLL race]. Tonight's game was for who came in first so far in the league. It's a tough loss but we can still come back.”

Mattimoe called it a huge win.

“We are still undefeated but we still have Springfield and Northview,” she said.

Williams said the game was indicative of how competitive the NLL has become.

“I think northwest Ohio as a whole is fantastic,” she said. “There are five or six teams that are playing really, really good soccer. It should be fun to see how the season progresses.”