The Wilcox varsity soccer team evened up their league record at 3-3 with their third-straight win on Tuesday. After a scoreless first half, the Chargers scored twice in the second. Goals by Olivia Corwin (50th minute) and Claire Dong (67th minute) fueled the offense in a 2-0 shutout win over Lynbrook.
“I think we’re building on some success here that we have had the last couple games,” said Wilcox Head Coach Michael Brown after the win. “We started 0-3 in league and now we are even. It has been a learning process from the teamwork aspect and trying to get the players moving in a cohesive pattern so that we can get more linking passes and get the ball into the attacking third of the field.”
After having a slight advantage in possession in the first half, the Chargers seemed to be getting a bit hemmed in on their defensive side of the field early in the second half. But when Corwin got loose and fired home a shot from the top-right corner of the 18-yard box into the far side of the net, the energy picked back up for the Chargers. Rather than nurse a 1-0 lead and fall into a defensive shell, Wilcox kept pushing. Corwin eventually assisted on the insurance marker from Dong, helping give Wilcox some breathing room.
“I thought we played really well tonight. We connected a lot of passes,” chimed Corwin. “We have been improving throughout the season so far, which is nice to see.”
“We did a really good job working well together,” added Dong. “We have been improving throughout the season and it really showed out there tonight.”
While Corwin and Dong provided the offense, it was the duo of centerbacks in senior Maya Epps and junior Nadia Castro that were instrumental in keeping the Vikings from roaming free. Epps, in particular, was exquisite in denying runs down the sideline, not just cutting off the lane and kicking the ball out of bounds, but rather keeping the ball in play and getting possession back for her squad.
“It’s integral for us, those two. Nadia and Maya are both playing centerback and we rely on them to not only tackle the ball, but to start our offense,” praised coach Brown. “I’m trying to get them to participate in supporting the midfield more, it’s been paying off for us when they do that, we get more looks on net when that happens. Maya and Nadia both are really important to us.”
“It’s really important to have her back there because we can always trust her to control the ball,” added Dong when asked about Epps. “She’s able to get balls out danger and not just clear them randomly, she’s actually able to connect the passes up the field too.”
Wilcox will look to continue their winning streak on Friday, Jan. 25 when they host Gunn. The Chargers previously lost to the Titans in Palo Alto 2-0 back on Jan. 9.
