BY JEREMY GOODE

(Photos by Kathy Leister)

The Westtown girl’s soccer team is good at soccer.

Quite.

In a matchup where the number one team in the Friends School League traveled to Shipley to face the number two seeded Gators, the Moose of Westtown scored three goals in the first half and four in the second to defeat Shipley 7-0.

“The score is obviously flattering and to come here and win convincingly is a positive for the team,” Westtown head coach Scott Bissett said.

For a team that scored seven goals, the Moose came out to a slow start. In fact, it would take 24 minutes before Westtown would get on the scoreboard. It would not be for the lack of opportunities, however.

Noelle Clabaugh would immediately record three shots on net, all of which went just wide left or wide right. Shipley would counter five and a half minutes in as Anna Pascale drew a foul outside Westtown’s 18. Shipley’s free kick went on goal, just sailing over the crossbar for a Westtown goal kick.

After that, it would be the Westtown show.

Westtown’s Olivia Bley would continuously push offense, leading the charge and putting up several shots that were either saved or just wide. Westtown would finally capitalize after Berta Grohmann Llinares put a strong shot on goal, which Shipley’s goalkeeper Rylee Louden dove for and initially saved, only for Bley to get the rebound in front of net to put it away for the goal.

“We started off a little less intense than we wanted to,” Bley said. “After about 10 minutes we adjusted…I think we played well and performed but there is still more we can do and better soccer to be played.”

If that’s the case, I do not know of any team looking to match up against Westtown.

Bley’s goal gave the Moose a jolt, and Clabaugh fired a goal from around the 18 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half, giving Westtown a 2-0 led.

“I just felt really confident going into today,” Clabaugh said. “My teammates helped me out really well… Eliana [Powenski] moved the ball really nicely for us, so it created a lot more chances for me.”

The 7-0 win for Westtown was definitely a team affair. Goalkeeper play was strong for Westtown, as was their backline. And of course, the offense continued to hum with five additional goals after the first half hour of play.

Bley was able to net her second goal of the day with just over two minutes remaining in the half, sending Westtown up 3-0 at halftime.

Bracing for adjustments from Shipley, Westtown switched some tactics around as well. It paid off immediately. Grohmann Llinares would make it 4-0 four minutes into the half. Bley would take a one on one with Louden 90 seconds later, rocketing a shot passed a helpless Louden who was way beyond the six.

“First half we didn’t really play well. I thought Shipley’s energy was way better than ours,” Bissett said. “And second half we just spoke about a few patterns that could potentially break them down. Getting that early goal killed any mental comeback at that stage.”

Clabaugh would add another goal with 25 minutes remaining, giving Westtown a commanding 6-0 led. It would not stop there for Westtown’s strikers and wings. Bley would record seven shots on net during the next 18 minutes. Her play dominated the Gators, keeping Shipley’s back line and goalkeeper on their toes.

Finally, to cap off the offensive juggernaut by Westtown, Bley got a give and go seven feet in front of the net with under three minutes remaining, burying the shot.

“We went into the game knowing that this was the team we were probably going to see again with FSL Championship,” Bley said. “We went in knowing that we needed to match their press. We did our thing; we knew we had to play feet and play soccer like Coach Scott told us to do.”

Bissett is not shy in his assessment of his team.

“We have really talented players, whether its Olivia (Delaware commit), whether it's Amani who is a Bermuda International player, whether it's Noelle as a freshman… we have so many of those front four players who can contribute.”

It is a compelling win for Westtown, giving them a little bit more breathing room in the Friends League standings. As for Shipley, the game could have been a strong wake-up call midway through the season. There is time to make adjustments, and the Gators have more of an idea what is needed out of them to compete with Westtown again later in the season.

“I was a bit disappointed with the intensity, but we knew it was going to be a tough game,” Shipley head coach Sebastian Le Toux said. “I think the first 20 minutes were good; physically I would say Westtown was above us… but I know my team is better than that.”

Westtown remains undefeated in Friends League play. For Shipley, it would be their first loss in league play.

For Le Toux, it was a combination of several things that was the difference between how Westtown and Shipley played.

“Of course, for me to be able to get them to play the way I want, today was half of them because they felt the pressure so they were scared to play and were just kicking the ball instead of passing,” Le Toux said. “I will try to make them more confident to take care of the ball and make Westtown run a bit more.”

Le Toux would also mention that his squad was outmatched physically, as Westtown seemed better conditioned to play for the entire game.

While the win counts the same as all of the others Westtown have recorded, this one feels a bit bigger due to the competition in facing Shipley. Even with the strong performance on the road, the Moose know the job is not done yet, as Clabaugh mentioned aspirations for the FSL playoffs and the states, and they also have more conference play to come.

“It’s a pretty big win,” Brianna Bartsch said. “I think we are all pretty happy with it especially for our game coming up on Friday against George School, so we’re excited.”