HART — What appeared to be a rivalry game that was up for grabs suddenly swung in Hart’s favor in the final minute of the first half Wednesday night, as a key goal sparked the Pirates to a 4-2 victory that kept them in the race in the West Michigan Conference.
The game was tied at 1 with 4:56 left in the first half after Fernanda Espinosa located Michelle Peterson’s free kick in traffic and finished it to equalize for Shelby (6-4-2, 4-3-1 WMC). Going into the half tied would have kept the momentum on the Tigers’ side.
That didn’t happen, though, thanks to a great centering pass by Natalie Rosema to Zoily Sarabia that Sarabia fired into the net in the final minute of the half. Rosema retrieved the ball near the corner and sent an on-target pass to Sarabia directly in front of the net for the score.
“That’s something we’ve worked on with Natalie over time, is helping her improve that and be able to play some of those passes,” Hart coach Joe Gilbert said. “Last year, we played a 3-5-2 and utilized Natalie as a striker and a wingback, so it’s something she was used to coming in and we knew we could probably utilize.”
The goal provided a big lift to Hart (10-3-1, 5-1 WMC) going into the break, and the Pirates played like it to start the second half, quickly creating some opportunities. They were able to cash one in just over two minutes after kickoff when Sarabia took a quick pass from Rilynn Porter in the box and scored her second goal, making it 3-1.
“Having that goal and being ahead at half is huge,” Gilbert said. “It allows us to then dictate what we want to do as opposed to (thinking) we’ve got to be a little careful here, or we need to look to attack here. It allows us to do what we want to do as opposed to having to keep playing it balanced.”
Hart also made a tweak to its formation at halftime, going to a three-back look to try to counter the Tigers’ two strikers, which worked well to limit the Shelby attack. The Tigers were able to work the ball into the offensive zone several times during the game, but Hart’s defensive unit did very well not to allow many of those possessions to become legitimate scoring opportunities. Shelby’s ballhandlers were unable to keep the ball moving the way they wanted to against an athletic group of Hart defenders.
“They had a good game plan,” Shelby coach Joe Gorton said. “They had girls in good spots, but I felt like we were just rushing everything we were doing, and that was leading to the misplays that we had. We just couldn’t keep it on our feet. Even when we got ourselves in quality positions, the ball was not coming off our foot right. It was skimming. The passes weren’t as crisp.”
Hart all but locked up the game with 26:25 to play when Addison Barefoot sent an impressive pass forward to Rilynn Porter to set up a goal, which Porter aimed perfectly to the top right corner of the net. The duo connected in the opening minutes of the game too, with Porter assisting Barefoot on that occasion.
The Pirates had placed a renewed emphasis on using their passing skills after a tough loss to Fremont two days prior, Gilbert said, knowing they wouldn’t be able to rely solely on dribbling and speed against the more quality opponents in the league. That emphasis was rewarded as the midfield, led by Barefoot and Porter, sent quality passes downfield throughout the game.
“(Fremont) was the first team we had seen in a while that is athletic and technically gifted, so we wanted to get back today to, let’s pass and move,” Gilbert said. “Keep that ball ticking over, so we’re dictating the flow of the game and then playing our fast players in when we have the chance.”
The Tigers took some solace in a strong finish to the game, which included a hard shot by Annabelle Stark that was sent with such speed that it deflected off Hart keeper Baleigh Klotz’s knees and into the net with four minutes left. Shelby kept the pressure on from there but was unable to generate another quality chance.
“When you play these quality teams, if you make enough mistakes, those mistakes pile up and bad things are going to happen,” Gorton said. “Goals start to get scored. I like the fact that the floodgates didn’t open up, and we didn’t just pack it in and go home. We kept fighting, kept looking for things, and that’s been the message that we’ve had since the preseason.”
