Valley Sports ReportWAVERLY — Junior Gianna Soprano and freshman Kezlynn DeKay accounted for all five goals — four of them in the second half, and senior Makenzie Olmsted had two assists in Waverly's dominant 5-0 win over Seton Catholic Central here Thursday night in STAC Central Division girls soccer action.
"We had a very slow first half," said Waverly coach Tara Hogan.
"The energy in the beginning was lacking and the communication was all but non-existent," she noted. "We kept waiting to see the composure and the energy we had at our last game and fell short.
"The second half was significantly better," said Hogan. "Our forwards — Kezlyn (DeKay) and Gianna (Soprano) had great games and put good pressure on Seton's players, and we were able to move Makenzie (Olmsted) up to help with forward opportunities in the second half and it paid off.
"The last 15 minutes of the game were where the girls shone, but it took a long time to get there," Hogan added.
Soprano, off an assist from junior Maci Wheeler, scored about 8 1/2 minutes into the game, but the Wolverines wouldn't add to their lead for almost 34 minutes.
Soprano scored an unassisted goal with 37:49 remaining in the contest to make it 2-0.
The Saints hung tough until the final 14-plus minutes when the Wolverines put the game away.
DeKay collected a loose ball and knocked it past the keeper with 14:16 remaining to extend the lead to 3-0.
With 7:04 remaining, DeKay ran down a through-ball from Olmsted, then tipped the ball past the keeper, who came hard out of the goal, then ran it down and fired it into an open net to push the lead to 4-0.
Soprano, off a feed from Olmsted, finished off the scoring with 2 minutes remaining.
Waverly had a 10-4 edge in shots-on-goal, and a 10-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Sophomore Taylin Gonzalez recorded three saves in net for the Wolverines, and freshman Carson LaFrance added one save.
Waverly, now 3-2, returns to action Tuesday when it hosts Norwich.
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IN PHOTO: Waverly's Gianna Soprano. ... VSR STOCK PHOTO.
