HART — Two early goals by Noah Raeth proved to be the difference
for Montague Thursday as the Wildcats defeated Hart 2-0 in a
pre-district matchup.
With the win, Montague moved on to face Kingsley in the second round in a game that will take place in Kingsley.
While
Raeth's goals, which were both very well-placed and came off nice
passes from teammates, were key to the Wildcats' win, it was driven as
much as anything else by Montague's strong defensive play. The shutout
marked Montague's second straight, and coach Brandon Mahoney said that's
not a coincidence, as his team has determined its optimal defensive
alignment - Michael Jones and Tyson Schattenberg in the middle, with
Austin White and Emerson Hedrick on the wings.
"Those guys
are just strong, physical soccer players, and they can hold their
own against anybody," Mahoney said of Jones and Schattenberg. "The last couple matches we've had them side by
side, and it is tough to get through them...Emerson
was kind of that missing piece for our defense, We tried a
few other people, and now he has stood up way bigger than you'd expect from a sophomore."
It
took longer, Mahoney conceded, than he or anyone wanted to figure out
what the right lineup was for the team, but the Wildcats (4-14-1) were
working to replace the most decorated senior group in program history
after it led the team to its first district title a year ago, so growing
pains weren't too surprising.
"We replaced 12 seniors last year, 10 of which were
starters, and so to try to fill that void and figure out where everybody
fit, it took some time," Mahoney said. "We know where people go, and we've got a lot
of young kids stepping up. We've got a lot of sophomores on the squad,
and they're playing like seniors. It's great to see."
Hart was
never able to sustain much of an offensive threat, and the Wildcats
attacked the ball aggressively, winning more than its share of 50/50
balls. Mahoney credited a deep fleet of assistant coaches with building
the mentality of the team, including his son Carter as an offensive
assistant and Nik Lipka, another former player of Mahoney's, on the
defensive side.
"'You guys have to penetrate, and you've got
to be aggressive up top,'" coach Mahoney said, describing Carter's
message to the offense. "I think he was a big
motivator to get that stuff done today...Having all those guys there
and having some of those alumni show these guys what you can
do, and how to strike the ball right (is great). I'm a 50-year-old dude,
and I am not going to strike that ball right."
The 'Cats
maintained a calm approach throughout the game, driven by the confidence
of their first goal. Mindful of keeping possession, Montague did not
rush its passes and was able to prevent any game-changing miscues. It
can be difficult to manufacture scoring chances when the other team
isn't making mistakes, and that was a mindset the Wildcats were
successful with.
"If we can start scoring, we get confidence," Mahoney said. "We get
that possession in the middle and it's hard (for opponents). If
you just play long ball, we can take that away from you, and we did
that tonight. You become a one-dimensional team, and it's easy to
defend. We are very fortunate that we had probably the best game
of our season tonight, so we're pretty excited about that."
