High school soccer: Sydney Smith's early saves set tone in Wadsworth win over Cloverleaf

WADSWORTH — The Wadsworth girls soccer team got a tremendous start from Sydney Smith on Saturday and earned a convincing 3-0 non-league win over Cloverleaf. With the Colts (7-2) pushing the pace, Smith made three crucial saves in the first 10 minutes to keep the Grizzlies (5-4-1) from getting behind against a strong defensive team. Smith (6 saves) helped Wadsworth notch its third straight win and third shutout of the season. "I always make saves for my team," Smith said. "I am here for my team, and I will come out no matter what the situation, no matter how big the girl and risk my body for my team because I want to win that badly and I know our team wants to win." The key saves from the senior set an early tone on defense. The Wadsworth offense soon took advantage. "The last couple of years, our defense has been our strong point," Wadsworth coach Paul Williford said. "We had everybody graduate and she's stepped into that role, and she is locking it down. As she goes, we go defensively. When she's making those kinds of saves, it gives the girls in front of her confidence and they play off of that." A misplay in the box by Cloverleaf keeper Abbey Myers (7 saves) found the foot of Wadsworth's Tenley Inestroza, who fired it home for a 1-0 lead with 24:56 left in the half. "We also talk about in practice attention to detail," Cloverleaf coach Guillermo Porras said. "That is what it came down to. It was just attention to detail on those finishing touches. If we put one away off the get go, it may be a different story." The first goal from Inestroza was big, but the next two from Lotus Lemp were even bigger. Cloverleaf entered the game having outscored opponents 32-2, but Lemp took advantage of a defensive breakdown and scored her first of the game 17:01 with to go until halftime. She then sprinted down the middle for her second with 5:24 on the first-half clock. "I think there was a lot of hype tonight around senior night," Lemp said. "That gave us a lot of energy, and that put us all to our peak performances to play together and to get back to where we want to be so we can go forward and carry on our winning streak." The Grizzlies also did a solid job defensively in front of Smith, blanketing leading Colt threats Riley Evans (11 goals, 9 assists) and Julia Armogida (2, 11). After Wadsworth scored on its first three shots, Myers gave her team a chance with seven saves, but the Colts could not get anything past Smith. Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Wadsworth 3, Cloverleaf 0 CLOVERLEAF 0 0 — 0 WADSWORTH 3 0 — 3 First W — Tenley Inestroza, 24:46. W — Lotus Lemp, 17:01. W — Lemp 5:24. Shots on goal — Cloverleaf 6, Wadsworth 10. Corner kicks — Cloverleaf 2, Wadsworth 2. Saves — Abbey Myers (C) 7, Sydney Smith (W) 6. Records — Cloverleaf (7-2), Wadsworth (5-4-1).