Girls soccer: Athena Craig and rest of Grizzlies fired up after tying Highland

WADSWORTH — The Highland girls soccer team has had the upper hand in its rivalry with neighboring rival Wadsworth in recent years, but the Grizzlies fought back Wednesday with a 1-1 draw against their new Suburban League National Conference foe. The draw snapped Wadsworth's six-game losing streak to the Hornets. The Grizzlies last defeated Highland 2-1 on Sept. 23, 2019, and Highland held a 22-3 scoring margin over that span. "It was nice to get a tie, especially against Highland because they are usually a pretty competitive game," Wadsworth senior Athena Craig said. "In the past years, it's been rough. It's nice that we at least got a tie in a conference game." Craig lifted the Grizzlies (5-6-1, 1-3-1) to that result when she created space between the defense to give Piper Chadbourne a passing lane. Craig then fired in the equalizer with 4:14 remaining, her ninth goal of the season. "With like 10 minutes left, I knew I had to try to get something in for us to get a tie to get the momentum going," Craig said. "I was up with the front line, and Piper had the ball. I saw space between the defenders and played a beautiful through ball. "I saw the goalie (Abby Karger) come out, and I had to place it first time. I knew I had to slot it back post." The tie, paired with SL National-leading Hudson's 2-0 win over Stow, knocked Highland (8-3-1, 4-1-1) out of contention in the league race. The Hornets face the Explorers (12-0, 6-0) in the finale next week. "Obviously, it's really upsetting," Hornets captain Jordyn Caples said. "We kind of lost it within the first half. We had a great first 15 minutes and then kind of fell apart. We weren't playing our game, I feel like we were playing their game more so. "At halftime, our coach (Jose Perez) talked about how we couldn't even connect a pass, which he was right. It's just super frustrating. We should have won that game." Highland shot out of the gate, with Penny Dykeman cashing in a long shot from the right sideline that just got over Wadsworth goalie Kara Reedy with 35:14 left in the first half. The goal was Dykeman's ninth of the season. Reedy made six saves, including a great effort on a shot by Charlotte Madison a couple minutes after Dykeman's goal and another highlight-reel play on a shot by Sophia Madison one minute prior to Craig's goal. The night was extra special for Reedy, who is working her way back from a quadricep strain that forced her to miss two games. "I'm just really glad to be back and playing," Reedy said. "I'm glad I could support my team and do my job back there." After surrendering the first goal, Reedy and the defense settled in to hold off Highland's attack. That gave the Grizzlies offense time to adjust, and the field shifted in Wadsworth's favor, especially in the second half. "I think that's a problem that we've had for the past couple of games," Dykeman said of the second half. "We're up in the first half, and then all of the sudden the second half hits and our intensity drops immensely. Once they get one goal, our heads are down. "It's a team effort, and we need to finish those balls that are being played in. We need to work on everything as a team." The Hornets defense was effective in limiting quality chances, as Karger saved the only other shot on goal, by Olivia Tankersley on a corner kick by Chadbourne, before Craig found the back of the net. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Wadsworth 1, Highland 1 HIGHLAND &emsp; 1 0 — 1 WADSWORTH&emsp; 0 1 — 1 First H — Penny Dykeman, 35:14. Second W — Athena Craig (Piper Chadbourne), 4:14. Shots on goal — Highland 7, Wadsworth 2. Corner kicks — Highland 4, Wadsworth 2. Saves — Abby Karger (H) 1, Kara Reedy (W) 6. Records — Highland (8-3-1, 4-1-1), Wadsworth (5-6-1, 1-3-1). Junior varsity — Highland 2, Wadsworth 0.