Lady Mustang Soccer Dominates Westlake

The started their campaign towards a state soccer championship in impressive fashion, with a 10-0 win over Westlake High School on Tuesday in the first round of the 5A state playoffs.

Abbey Nolte and Olivia Guajardo both had hat tricks while team co-captain Sarah Camp helped out with five assists forcing the “mercy rule” to come into effect with just over 13 minutes remaining in the game.

The Mustangs began their scoring spree early against the overmatched Lions; Guajardo scored off of a corner kick by Camp in the fifth minute as the elated ‘Stangs got off to a 1-0 lead. Westlake’s physical play and offside trap kept the score close, but Nolte added two first half goals to lift her team to a 4-0 lead at halftime.

Coach Patrick Fox couldn’t have been too displeased, but he expressed room for improvement.

“At halftime, I challenged them to play a better second half. Not to play harder but to play smarter," said Fox. "We were offside probably 10 or 12 times. I stressed ‘be patient’ and ‘stick with the last defender’ but we were falling asleep out there and they had their offside trap going.”

Fox’s team came out of the locker room playing even better than they did in the first half. The Mustangs put a lot of pressure on Lions goalkeeper Christina Paul. And although Paul came up with a number of spectacular saves, her efforts seemed futile due to Kennesaw’s ability to convert open shots and second chance opportunities.

Westlake couldn’t sustain any pressure against Fox’s revamped defense.

“It’s a new defense for this year so they’ve been growing," said Fox. "This was an opportunity for them to step up. I didn’t know how they were going to respond in a playoff game but the backline stepped up. We have senior leadership in our goalie so she definitely helps getting them in line.”

Senior goalkeeper Jenny Lauer was given a rest in the 53rd minute when the game had already been decided, after only facing one shot.

Aside from her five assists, Camp also added a goal.

Emily Bechke also had a goal while Amanda Fenton had a pair.