Charles E. Shoemaker II/The Gazette
Quince Orchard's Leah Prentice (6) chases down the ball against Urbana's Katie Marshall (10) and Ally Breitsameter (13) Thursday during the Hawks' 2-1 win in Ijamsville.
Urbana girls edge Quince Orchard
Ruhe's 35-yard game-winner lifts Urbana to 2-1 win over Cougars on Thursday
by Jennifer Beekman | Staff Writer
Urbana High senior midfielder Amie Ruhe had been dishing out passes to her teammates up top for the majority of Thursday's home game against Quince Orchard, but with the scored tied 1-1 in the 58th minute, decided to take matters into her own hands.
As the Cougars scrambled to get back and defend her push forward, Ruhe stopped short and launched a perfectly-arched 35-yard shot just under the crossbar to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead for good.
Urbana moved to 3-0 with the win while Quince Orchard dropped to 2-1.
"Lately my shots have been going all over the place but my coach [Chuck Nichols] just said to keep shooting" Ruhe said. "We knew that Quince Orchard would be aggressive. They do not play like most high school teams; they pass the ball around a lot. We just knew we would have to put constant pressure on them."
Thursday's battle played out much like a game between two perennial powers should. It was physical, competitive and laced with frequent momentum shifts.
Urbana got off to a stronger start, controlling the first 10 minutes. Senior striker Julie Ruhe gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute on a 20-yard breakaway.
After that, Quince Orchard settled in and started knocking the ball around and setting up runs. The Cougars pressured Urbana the latter part of the first half, outshooting it 5-4 in the half.
Cougars sophomore Alli Solomon finished a deflection from about five yards out to even the score at 1-1 at halftime.
Quince Orchard senior forward Ele Margelos nearly tied the game seconds before the whistle was called when she broke through the Hawks' defense and rolled a shot past goalie Katie Marshall. But it bounced off the right goal post and ricocheted out.
Thursday was a good early season test for Quince Orchard. The Cougars returned the majority of last year's state final squad—forwards Leah Prentice and Margelos and midfielders Yvonne Latour, Emily D'Italia and Kayla Clarke form as cohesive a scoring unit as any coach could ask for. But a couple younger players are stepping into more prominent roles this year, and playing time against one of the state's best teams will be beneficial as the season wears on.
Sophomore goalie Gabby Paolini did a superb job blocking the barrage of shots Urbana sent at her in the second half—the Hawks finished with 11 shots on goal to Quince Orchard's 8; Paolini tallied nine saves.
Freshman Isabelle Latour solidified the Cougars' well-crafted backline, helmed Margaret Smith, Jessica Row and Jenny Van Hook.
"I definitely have confidence [in Gabby], I think if she were a little bit taller we would still be playing right now," Quince Orchard coach Peg Keiller said after the game. "[Thursday's] game definitely showed us what we need to work on. The girls are pretty fired up right now about working hard."
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