By RYAN WALKER
Right after Norwell worked tirelessly to find the back of the net, No. 15 Leo dropped another goal and took the life out of the game for good.
It was Knights’ Division I girls’ soccer star, Grace Mann, that slipped a penalty kick perfectly underneath the top right crossbar in the second half. The Creighton Blue Jay’s commit netted Norwell a 2-1 deficit and gave it a shot against the reigning 2A state runner-up Leo Lions.
But five minutes later, Leo’s Maddie Schwalm drilled her second goal on the night. All of that effort was all gone.
Schwalm’s score was the beginning of a five-goal run and gave Leo a conference win on opening night 7-1.
“We come out (in the) second half we played hard,” Norwell head coach Dan Batdorff said. “We made a couple of mental mistakes, gave up another goal and we started hanging our heads a little bit … We’re trying our best to stop that kind of stuff — getting down ourselves.”
It certainly wasn’t goaltender Maggi Neuenschwander’s fault. The freshman was not only challenged with a ranked opponent charging ball after ball at her, but it was only her third high school soccer match.
Her final stat line isn’t a good indication of what truly happened. The freshman was pelted against 20-plus shots before the fourth goal came through. Point-blank opportunities, rebounds and perhaps some wear-and-tear got the best of Neuenschwander, but in between, she made varsity-level saves.
“We lost our two keepers during Blackhawk Christian (on Saturday), and Maggie steps in and taking on this role as a true freshman,” Batdorff said. “There’s so much she has to learn, and I was so impressed with her. She’s really going to be a fantastic goalie.”
Normal varsity goaltenders Abby Wagner went down with an injury on a rough field surface against Blackhawk. Her replacement, Emma Garner, went down with a similar injury right after.
“I’m thankful that we have four keepers,” Batdorff joked.
For a moment, it seemed that the Knights had a shot at the mighty Lions. After Mann’s goal, it seemed to be anyone’s game.
Leo was attacking, but Norwell kept putting itself in a position to win. It’s with a roster that lost key defensive pieces and two senior forwards.
But Batdorff has been impressed with what he’s seen, and is confident things will turn around.
“Those girls go out there and play their hearts out so I’m very impressed with what they’re doing,” Batdroff said. “I think we’re going to continue to improve. I’m looking for good things before the end of the season.”
Norwell and Leo tie the junior varsity match 0-0. Emma Garner and Shae Brooks combined for the shutout in net for the Knights.
Norwell will host NE8 foe Columbia City at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 31.
ryan@news-banner.com
