Girls soccer: Cloverleaf beats Buckeye in battle of undefeated teams

YORK TWP. — In a battle of unbeaten girls soccer teams, a strong defensive effort and an opportunistic free kick by junior Hannah Hopek kept Cloverleaf undefeated against backyard rival Buckeye on Saturday. Hopek broke a defensive stalemate with 20:27 left on a free kick taken from just above the box after the Bucks were called for taking down Brooklyn Cavey. "I was a little bit nervous going into the second half since we were still tied 0-0," Hopek said. "After the goal, it felt like a relief. There wasn't much time left and we thought we had it." It looked like Buckeye goalie Carlie Gunkelman (3 saves) had a bead on Hopek's kick by diving left, but the ball glanced off one of the players on the line in front of Hopek and caromed into the opposite corner of the net. The win for the Colts came in a playoff-like environment, with fans into the game and play on the field physical. Cloverleaf's Riley Werner had to leave briefly in the first half after colliding with a Buckeye player on a header. The Colts also were issued two yellow cards in the second half. As if that wasn't enough, the game stopped momentarily with 27:19 left after Cloverleaf goalie Stella Bennett was stung by a bee. "We're always fierce competitors," Cloverleaf's Presly McConnell said. "We always have good games against each other. We all came in knowing it was going to be a physical game, and we had to keep a good mentality in order to win." Until the free kick and in the time remaining afterwards, the Bucks (2-1-2) executed a great game plan to limit the Colts (5-0-1), who entered the game scoring 6.4 goals per game and had only been held under seven once in a 1-1 tie with Medina County rival Wadsworth. "It was a really hard-fought game, and we knew it was going to be a close one," Buckeye junior defender Julia King said. "I think we had them pretty locked down, and they weren't going to get many chances on their own. It was going to have to be on a free kick or something like that." The defensive effort was particularly strong considering Buckeye held Cloverleaf to only two shots on goal despite being pinned in the Bucks' defensive third for almost the entire first half. Callee Gibson and Hopek had shots saved by Gunkelman in the opening 13 minutes, but there were not many other serious threats until Gunkelman saved another shot by Hopek 15 minutes into the second half. Following the goal, Buckeye pushed the ball and forced Bennett to make three of her four saves in the final 15:31, including shots by Claire King, Isabelle Krakowski and Julia King. "I think we really dug deep in the second half, and we could have gotten this one if time hadn't run out," Julia King said. The Bucks were adjusting on offense to their first full game without leading scorer Phoenix Johnson, who had one goal and two assists in three games before tearing an ACL against North Olmsted on Wednesday. "(Johnson) was coming back from an ACL already and then at North Olmsted on Wednesday, she tore the other one," Buckeye coach Peter Byrnes said. "It's unfortunate, but given that it just happened, the girls really stepped up and they fought for everything, which is all I asked for today." Cloverleaf's defense, which has only allowed three goals in six games, did not make things easy for Buckeye with a stout effort that limited the Bucks to one shot on goal in the first half. The Colts made sure to aid Bennett by closing space and rarely giving Buckeye clean looks at the goal. "We tried to pressure, cover, balance the whole game," McConnell said. "We all communicate the entire game. They have some fast girls up top, and we just had to work together to make sure no one is left unmarked." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Cloverleaf 1, Buckeye 0 CLOVERLEAF 0 1 — 1 BUCKEYE 0 0 — 0 Second C — Hannah Hopek, 20:27. Shots on goal — Cloverleaf 4, Buckeye 4. Corner kicks — Cloverleaf 3, Buckeye 3. Saves — Stella Bennett (C) 4, Carlie Gunkelman (B) 3. Records — Cloverleaf (5-0-1), Buckeye (2-1-2). Junior varsity — Cloverleaf 4, Buckeye 0.