Girls soccer: Cloverleaf ties Norton, but falls to second in MAC

WESTFIELD TWP. — The Cloverleaf girls soccer team didn't get exactly what it was looking for Tuesday night, but the Colts didn't leave Gene Clark Stadium empty-handed. Despite controlling the tempo for the majority of the game, especially in the first half, the best Cloverleaf could do in its Metro Athletic Conference showdown with Norton was a 1-1 tie. That tie snapped a five-game winning streak against the Panthers, which included two MAC Tournament wins. The last time the Colts didn't beat Norton was a 3-1 loss on Sept. 14, 2021. "I definitely knew that it was going to be a hard game, but the goal that they got we shouldn't have let in," senior Hannah Hopek said. "I think we could have prevented it. We were definitely the better team. "I'm glad that we finished a goal early to tie it, but we definitely should have finished another one. We were just coming short of them every time." Hopek scored the equalizer with 12:36 left in the first half with a header off a corner kick by sophomore Katie Wershing. The goal was picture perfect on both ends. "I really focus on playing it to the top of the six and the PK spot," Wershing said of her corners. "Usually Hannah is always there ready to attack for it. I know if it's a 50-50 ball, Hannah won't back down." That goal tied the game because five minutes earlier, senior Samiah Thompson scored on a strong run in which she got in the box and beat Colts goalie Stella Bennett to get off a shot into the left corner of the net. Thompson's goal was the first Norton (6-1-1, 2-1-1) has scored against Cloverleaf since a 4-1 loss in the MAC Tournament on Oct. 5, 2023. The Colts recorded two shutouts last season against the Panthers. "That goal definitely shouldn't have happened," junior defender and captain Lainey Manns said. "That was just silly mistakes through many lines of our defense throughout the field. Especially in the midfield, we weren't marking and if we would have just marked, they wouldn't have that goal. We should have won." Cloverleaf (3-2-1, 3-0-1) entered the night tied atop the MAC standings with Streetsboro (6-2, 4-0) but fell behind after the Rockets defeated Woodridge 8-0. Streetsboro handed Norton its only loss on the season, a 4-1 decision on Thursday. The Colts face the Rockets on Sept. 30 and still have a chance to take the regular-season title, but first have to face Field and Woodridge the next two weeks. The Falcons entered play Tuesday 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the MAC. The Bulldogs are now 5-2-1 and 2-2 in the league. "We just have to use what we learned from this game," Manns said. "We need to communicate more and have better contact through passes. We need to go forward with that and then forget everything else." Manns had the last of Cloverleaf's five shots on goal in the first half with 6:20 remaining, but Norton goalie Chloe Womble (7 saves) corralled it. In the second half, Hopek had two shots saved by Womble, the last of which came with 2:57 left and Womble hopping up in the air and reaching back to keep the ball from crossing the line on a free kick from right of the goal. Abby Plowman also had a quality chance with 6:18 remaining, but her shot toward a fairly open side of the goal went just off target to the left. "Our last game against Ravenna, we didn't pass well together, but I think we improved on it today," Hopek said. "I definitely think passing as a team and doing the give-and-go's, we could improve on that, which would definitely help us." Bennett made two of her three saves near the midway point of the second half to keep the game tied. Cloverleaf held an 8-4 edge in shots on goal and a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Cloverleaf 1, Norton 1 NORTON 1 0 — 1 CLOVERLEAF 1 0 — 1 First N — Samiah Thompson, 17:31. C — Hannah Hopek (Katie Wershing), 12:36 Shots on goal — Norton 4, Cloverleaf 8. Corner kicks — Norton 1, Cloverleaf 3. Saves — Chloe Womble (N) 7, Stella Bennett (C) 3. Records — Norton (6-1-1, 2-1-1), Cloverleaf (3-2-1, 3-0-1).