By Jared Schmeltzer
Reporter
On Tuesday night the Merrill girls soccer team hosted Wausau East for their first conference game of the season. East would score early and build on to their lead for a 4-1 win over Merrill.
“It was a tough way to start out our conference slate,” comments Merrill head coach Kyle Hahn, “Wausau East has a tremendous athlete in Abby Thompson and she showed why she’s one of the top players in conference by bagging three goals,”
According to coach Hahn the Jays attempted to make life difficult for Thompson however she was too fast. “Throughout the game, we tried making adjustments to slow Thompson down and reduce her opportunities on goal, but her speed and finishing was just too much in the end,” said Hahn. “I’m proud of the way our girls were actively communicating during the game to problem solve defensively. Even prouder that we didn’t give up and kept working hard and fighting through the final whistle.”
McKenna Smith was the lone Bluejay to find the back of the net, as she scored her first goal of the season as coach Hahn explains, “McKenna Smith opened her scoring account by pulling one back for us late in the game. She saw an opening and took a shot just outside the box that gave East’s goalkeeper a handful of trouble and ultimately found its way to the back of the net.”
The Jays are scheduled to host Marshfield tomorrow at 7 p.m. for the Bluejays Parents Night.