Perrysburg junior Emma Ogdahl, left, moves the ball during the first half of a soccer match against St. Ursula on Wednesday at Strasser Field in Toledo. Ogdahl played a role in all three Perrysburg goals during the Yellow Jackets’ 3-0 victory. (Scott W. Grau | Sentinel-Tribune)
By Bryce Hudik
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
TOLEDO — Perrysburg’s smothering defense was too much for St. Ursula to overcome in the Yellow Jackets’ 3-0 victory Wednesday at Strasser Stadium.
As for the Yellow Jacket’s attack, Emma Ogdahl dominated, cashing in two goals and contributing an assist.
It was a defensive stalemate from both sides throughout the initial part of the match — a scrappy game with a lot of physicality, and several injuries halted the match.
“Anytime you play Perrysburg they’re going to have those big, strong athletes,” said St. Ursula coach Scott Reed. “So we kind of expected a physical match. To combat that we wanted to get it on the floor and play not so much in the air, which we got away from in the second half.”
The only goal of the first half came from Ogdahl. At 32:35 she took a free kick from long distance and beamed it into the back of the net over the goalkeepers’ outstretched arms.
The 1-0 score held until the 18th minute of the second half. Camille Francis set up Ogdahl with a precisely placed pass, and Ogdahl scored her second goal on the night.
“In the first half we were very direct and in the second half we kind of opened it up. This created opportunities from out wide and that’s how we were able to put the balls in the net,” said Perrysburg coach Jorge Diaz. “We were playing their game in the first half, and we said, ‘Look, we have to control the ball and dominate possession.’”
The third goal for the Yellow Jackets saw Ogdahl involved once again. She sent a well-placed ball of her own to fellow junior Sophie Mitchell, who found the net at 9:58.
“At times we got a little too frantic and didn’t keep possession of the ball. We got stuck in a track meet going back and forth. We want to be better at penetrating and breaking lines going forward,” said Reed.
The Yellow Jackets did their share of damage in the second half, putting ten shots on goal and converting two. As for their defense they only allowed a handful of looks at net. Whenever the Arrows did have a chance to score, sophomore goalkeeper Tori Trzcinski was there to deny the shots. She had five saves on the night.
This marks the final regular season game for Perrysburg. They end the season with an impressive 12-4-1 record and a share of the Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division title with Anthony Wayne, and their next action will come in a newly realigned Division I postseason.
St. Ursula falls to 7-4-3 on the year and will play one final regular season game against Notre Dame Academy next Tuesday. Also, they Arrows will take on Fremont Ross for the first game of the tournament. This matchup is set to take place on Oct. 21 at 7:15 p.m.
