Hazelwood West Girls Soccer Upended by Oakville

FENTON-- girls varsity soccer coach Jason Sellers hasn’t really been surprised to see his team struggle some defensively this season.

The Wildcats lost nine seniors from last year’s 25-2 conference and district championship team. Many of those players were key components in West’s top-notch 2010 defensive unit.

Building the type of chemistry it takes to be a top defense takes time, and after Friday evening’s 3-0 loss to Oakville High in the Parkway College Showcase at the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park, it appears Hazelwood West is going to need more time to work out the kinks.

“It’s gonna be a process,” Sellers said. “The girls we lost had been there for three or four years, and now we’re trying to incorporate some new people.

"It’s a whole new team dynamic,” he said.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats haven’t been able to translate that into a lot of wins.

Just this week, Hazelwood West did nab two Suburban North Conference wins against McCluer and McCluer North, but the Wildcats also endured lopsided losses against Triad, Lafayette, and Oakville.

“I keep telling the girls, it’s not where you start, but where you finish that matters,” Sellers said. “We’re hoping to get there by the time districts roll around.”

The Tigers jumped on the board in the first minute of the game against Oakville when junior Ashley Burton flipped a rebound shot past Hazelwood West goalie Alex Linck.

Oakville led 1-0 throughout the first half, but it was the Wildcats who really dominated the play, controlling the ball for most of the half, and not letting Oakville generate much offense, besides the one goal the Tigers scored.

“We’re not where we want to be yet,” Sellers said, “but game to game, we’re getting incrementally better and better, so hopefully that can continue.”

It didn’t in the second half, where miscues were a constant problem for West.

The Wildcats never seemed able to make the right play.

Passes were just out of reach. Attempts to attack yielded few opportunities to score. And mental mistakes led to two Oakville goals early in the second half.

Tiger junior Lauren Fussell made one brilliant play, lifting a corner kick pass to the front of West’s net. Teammate Emily Pedroli was able to steer the ball in, giving Oakville a 2-0 lead.

Then, after an ill-conceived pass attempt by a West player from in front of her own net, Oakville junior Chole Hutcheson stole the ball and easily moved in for a breakaway goal that Linck had no chance on.

West junior Ashley Geist almost got one back with just about 15 minutes left. She beat one Oakville defender and faked out another, before smashing a shot toward the goal.

But Oakville goalkeeper Tina Haberberger made the save to prevent the score and preserve the shutout.

On Saturday at the Parkway College Showcase, Hazelwood West defeated Parkway North 2-1, in a matchup of sub- .500 teams looking to generate some energy heading into the second half of the season.

The victory lifted Hazelwood West’s overall record to 5-7.

The Wildcats will get a chance to even that mark this week, when they host a 4 p.m. contest against rival Hazelwood Central, on Thursday, April 17.

The following day, Friday, April 18, West will travel to St. Peters, to take on Francis Howell Central. That game will kick off at 5:45 p.m.