Girls soccer: Cloverleaf runs roughshod over Buckeye

WESTFIELD TWP. — The Cloverleaf girls soccer team got the revenge it craved Monday night. After being upset by Buckeye in a Division II sectional final last season, the Colts ran roughshod over the Bucks in a 7-1 non-league victory on senior night. "We really wanted to crush them 12-0," said sophomore midfielder Hannah Hopek, who had a goal and assist. "We didn't get to that, but we still beat them by a decent amount." The Bucks (5-5-1) actually scored the first goal when a Cloverleaf defender mishandled the ball and Isabelle Krakowski converted with 27:05 to play in the first half. After that — and before, for that matter — it was all Colts (9-0-1), as senior Riley Evans scored a career-high five goals and added an assist as Cloverleaf outshot Buckeye 16-6 and had a 4-1 edge in corner kicks. Honored prior to the game along with fellow seniors Vicki Brandt and Sarah Naftzger, Evans and her teammates killed the Bucks with their speed, repeatedly taking long balls from the back and turning them into goals. "That speaks for itself," Buckeye coach Derrick Gullen said. "If you're able to capitalize on speed, why not? If it's not broke, don't fix it." Cloverleaf tied the game when Riley Werner scored off a great pass from Evans with 25:15 to go in the opening half, which started a string where the Colts scored three times in 2:53. Evans made it 2-1 when she took a long pass from Presly McConnell and beat helpless Bucks keeper Brooke Cutlip (6 saves) at 24:29, then scored again at 22:22 off a pass from Kiersyn Berry on which she outfought a defender for the ball, then beat Cutlip to the lower right corner from 25 yards. Evans got her third goal off a corner kick from Hopek with 11:13 still left in the first half, which took 54 minutes to play due to four yellow cards and a couple injuries. Hopek really drove a nail into the coffin when she beat Cutlip high 54.3 seconds before halftime, and Evans upped her season totals to 16 goals and nine assists with a pair of penalty kick conversions in the second half. "We're always really competitive with Buckeye," said Evans, a Northern Kentucky recruit. "Last year it was unfortunate we didn't come out on top, so it's been a goal to win this game. "There's always a very high intensity and aggressiveness when we play them. It can make it difficult to not let it get to you. It was very chippy." It took exactly 2 hours to play 80 minutes of soccer with a 10-minute halftime, in part because there were six yellow cards in the game, with the Colts getting four. "Any time we play Cloverleaf, we know it's going to be a battle," Gullen said. "It's a nice rivalry, and it gets quite intense. I have to give it to them. They played very well." Heady freshman keeper Stella Bennett made five saves for the Colts and got plenty of help from the starting back line of McConnell, Berry, Anastasia Baughman and Lainey Manns, but the real key was the ability of Cloverleaf's forwards, particularly Evans, to get past Buckeye's defense. Motivated by last year and an exchange on social media prior to the rematch, the Colts also were able to use their aggressiveness without going overboard. "I've been really excited for this game," Hopek said. "I wanted to get back at them. It felt good to beat them by so much." Evans exited the game to a loud ovation after her fifth goal and was clearly the best player on the field. "I was really excited to be able to capitalize," she said. "I have great teammates and I had a great time." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Cloverleaf 7, Buckeye 1 BUCKEYE 1 0 — 1 CLOVERLEAF 5 2 — 7 First B — Isabelle Krakowski, 27:05. C — Riley Werner (Riley Evans), 25:15. C — Evans (Presly McConnell), 24:29. C — Evans (Kiersyn Berry), 22:22. C — Evans (Hannah Hopek), 11:13. C — Hopek, 0:54.3. Second C — Evans (penalty kick), 11:13. C — Evans (penalty kick), 7:31. Shots on goal — Buckeye 6, Cloverleaf 16. Corner kicks — Buckeye 1, Cloverleaf 4. Saves — Brooke Cutlip (B) 9, Stella Bennett (C) 5. Records — Buckeye (5-5-1), Cloverleaf (9-0-1).