Bowling Green senior forward Maddy Adams scored two goals and junior forward Ella Koester had one goal and two assists in leading the Bobcats to a 4-0 Northern Lakes League girls soccer victory over Springfield at Bobcat Stadium Wednesday.
Two freshmen also worked their way into the scoring column — forward Alayna Mahan scored one goal and defenseman Leah Koester had an assist.
The Bobcats improved to 4-2-2 overall, but more importantly the Bobcats are 4-1 after playing all five opponents in the NLL Cardinal Division.
BG’s only league loss was 2-0 to Clay (5-3-1, 5-0) on September 9, but there will be a rematch at Clay Memorial Stadium next Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.
“I definitely believe in our team, for sure,” Adams said. “It’s going to be a fight like it always is. I mean, it’s a whole different league this year so I think we have a chance of winning it but we’re just going to have to fight super hard against Clay.”
BG senior goalkeeper Ella Billiot, who led her team to its fourth shutout of the season against Springfield, added, “They (Clay) are definitely a good team. They have a lot of strong and fast players.”
BG coach Erika Kimple firmly believes her team has a chance of bringing home an NLL Cardinal Division title if they play their cards right.
“I feel really great about it. I knew that we would be really competitive,” Kimple said. “I think we’ve got a really good team that has really figured things out from the first game to now.
“They are working well together. After that first run through I think we can compete for that top spot for the first time. I’m really excited about it.”
Billiot added, “I think that we’ve really come a long way the past two years after losing a bunch of our starting girls about two years ago. I think we’re definitely getting there. I think it’s not always on, but when it’s on, it’s on.”
The Bobcats defeated a Springfield team that fell to 1-8 and is winless in the NLL. The Blue Devils controlled possession for the first 20 minutes, but gradually the Bobcats took control.
“I think our warm-up started a bit slow,” Kimple said. “Sometimes for a 7 p.m. game we get to go home right after school, we get a little bit messed up, so I think we took the first 15 to 25 minutes to warm up in the game, which is something that we must be able to change.
“Then once we got into it and started communicating a little bit better, I thought that we controlled the game a lot more.”
In the first half, BG outshot Springfield 9-7, including 8-4 in shots on goal, but Billiot was busier kicking goal kicks and punts than Springfield senior keeper Rian Caywood was.
Billiot delivered 12 kicks while Caywood delivered nine, demonstrating that the Blue Devils had chances but could not convert.
“Sometimes it definitely gets to my head a little bit, so I just have to remember I practiced, and I trained so I know what I’m doing, and I just have to remember to fall back on what I know,” Billiot said.
Still, the Bobcats scored twice. After a steal at midfield, Ella Koester drove up the left side and sent a lead pass to Mahan, who scored her fourth goal of the season, breaking a scoreless tie with 11:14 remaining in the first half.
Less than five minutes later, with 6:22 on the clock, Adams delivered a 20-foot arcing shot from just outside the keeper’s box, putting the Bobcats up 2-0. Junior midfielder Claire Rieman played the ball through and then Ella Koester played the ball to Adams.
In the second half, it again took most of the half for BG to get on the board, but with 14:28 remaining Ella Koester sent an angled 20-foot shot from the right pitch into the left corner of the net, giving the Bobcats a three-goal cushion.
Adams scored again 16 seconds later, beating a defender and Caywood to score.
“The first one (goal) I just hit it from outside the box and it went in,” Adams said. “The second one I dribbled through a few (defenders) and then I saw the keeper coming out so then I just passed it straight into the goal and it went in.”
Adams leads the team in scoring with 17 points on seven goals and three assists. Kimple says when Adams is dribbling through traffic or finding the open teammate, it impresses her, even if she turns it over.
“What I really love about Maddy is that she is just so confident around the ball,” Kimple said. “She stays really positive even when she messes up and loses it, she doesn’t let it get into her head. She keeps going and tries it the next time.
“I love watching her play and the way that her touches on the ball are so clean and so organized. She’s just so confident and I think that makes a huge difference. It’s just her confidence on the ball.”
