MANSFIELD – Tara Andrews was just one of five freshmen the Madison Lady Rams started Thursday evening against Mansfield Senior at the Malabar Soccer Complex.
But after she turned a hat trick with three goals in an 8-1 Madison victory, it’s clear Andrews is no ordinary freshman.
“Tara has started for us since day one,” Madison coach Steve Crist said. “She understands the game very well. She has great scoring ability, but she also sees the field very well. She knows how to position herself to receive the ball and also where to play the ball (to teammates).”
From the right edge of Madison’s front line, Andrews wore out the Lady Tygers defense early, constantly challenging with crosses and shots on goal.
She assisted on the Lady Rams second goal about 12 minutes into the match with a perfect cross to fellow freshman Morghan Russle and then extended Madison’s lead to 4-1 about six minutes later, putting the ball into the net after the a Mansfield defender and goalkeeper were indecisive on the play.
Andrews’ second two goals came in the second half. She scored 10 minutes into the period to make it 6-1 and then closed the scoring with a searing long strike with 7:21 left to play.
It propelled Madison to its first win of the season after a season-opening tie with St. Peter’s and losses to Ashland and Ontario. It raised the Lady Rams’ record to 1-2-1 overall and 1-1 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.
“We changed some things up today, adding one more freshmen to the starting lineup. What we did tonight is what we worked on all week. We exploited the outside and then took it back to the middle,” Crist said. “On defense, we did a better job of getting back when we needed.”
It was another long night for a young and winless Mansfield Senior team, which has already played six matches this season, the first five in a brutal eight-day period. The Lady Tygers only have 17 players in their program for coach Dustin Hosler, 12 of which are sophomores or freshmen.
One of their three seniors, defender and team captain Dinah Thompson, didn’t play against Madison after suffering a knee injury five days ago at Dublin Scioto.
“We may not have the skills to compete in every match, but we should always be able to compete in terms of hustle and determination,” Hosler said.
The grueling early season schedule has made practice and coaching difficult. “You don’t want to go too hard in a practice the day before a game and wear out the legs. And we really can’t afford any injuries with 17 players,” Hosler said.
Madison junior Paige Duklovic scored a pair of goals for the Lady Rams, one in each half. Also scoring for Madison were sophomore Destinee Sablan and freshman Haley Huff, both of whom struck long balls in the first half that went over the head of freshmen goalkeeper Faith Owens.
Madison also dominated the game statistically. The Lady Rams had 21 shots on goal to just eight for Mansfield Senior. Madison had seven corner kicks to just three for the Lady Tygers. Mansfield goalkeepers combined for 12 saves, compared to three for Madison.
Madison plays again Saturday at 10 a.m. on its home pitch in a non-league match against Sandusky. Mansfield Senior finally gets a break with its next match not until next Thursday at home, albeit against OCC favorite Clear Fork.
There was no JV match on Thursday since Mansfield Senior does not have a JV team.
“Tara has started for us since day one,” Madison coach Steve Crist said. “She understands the game very well. She has great scoring ability, but she also sees the field very well. She knows how to position herself to receive the ball and also where to play the ball (to teammates).”
