The Troy City girls fought hard and still came up short on the road against the Nationals SC.
By Garrett Pog
Sabrina Gaul (Liverpool) chasing after a ball to prevent a goal kick.
After a scoreless tie last Tuesday against Lake St. Clair, Troy City WFC was fired up and ready to get a win in the United Women’s Soccer league.
They played a road game against the Nationals SC (, a club known for developing high-quality talent from a young age, in Oakland University’s Dome, the rival school for Detroit Mercy, where a lot of Troy City players spend their Fall season (Eva Hill, Hailey Matthews, etc.).
Unfortunately, Troy City would come up short once again, as an unfortunate 1st half led them to give up 2 goals that are atypical for this team, and gives them another loss on a season where they’ve seen any kind of result you can think of.
Here’s how the game sorted out:
How the Heck Did That Go In?
The Nationals lived in the final third for the 1st 5 minutes of this match, moving through the midfield with ease and keeping possession just outside of the 18-yard box, while Troy City did an excellent job of keeping them out of range to score a goal.
Fortunately for them, the Nationals forward got frustrated with the defense she was looking at, and decided to shoot a one-timer from the right side of the box across the goal. Head Coach John Arndt, who typically welcomes the long-distance shots, said “That’s okay!” as he always does when the opposing team takes a wild shot.
The ball traveled across the box, and 3 Troy City players would back off of it, as it was surely going out for a Goal Kick. By the grace of God (or not depending on who you ask), the ball defied the laws of physics and spun just in time to tuck into the back left corner of the net. The bench was beside themselves, as no one expected that ball to go in. Even the Nationals player that kicked it in was walking away from the ball, getting ready to go back on defense.
It was an unbelievable start to a match that had a lot of gas left in the tank.
Unfortunate Timing
Arndt has expressed to his team about the importance of the first and last 5 minutes of each half, and how important those are to set the tone, and prevent anything from changing the momentum late in the game. Just like how the first 5 minutes were unfortunate for Troy City, the last 5 minutes were disastrous.
Throughout the middle of the 1st half, Ella Matthews (Catawba) and Sydney Hewer (Heidelberg) worked relentlessly to create opportunities for Troy City, including the latter shooting into the woodwork as well as an unbelievable shot on goal that rivaled Alanna Earl’s (Adrian) header from earlier in the week of scores that had a 99% chance of going in, but did not. As the clock crept into extra time, the tide started to shift in the favor of the Nationals.
It took phenomenal passing to get the ball towards the box, and once it made its way there, the Nationals would fire off shots left and right, the majority of them being blocked by the back-line combination of Hailey Matthews (Detroit Mercy), Simona Iacobacci (Lourdes), Avery Sikorski (Ferris State), and Cecily Hughes (Lourdes). The Nationals’ only shot on goal in extra time was a power shot that was sent straight into the chest of Eva Hill (Detroit Mercy), though she managed to hold onto it when any average goalie would have been knocked over.
Still, the Nationals would press on, and a challenge for the ball by Sikorski would trip up the Nationals’ striker in the box, forcing the official to point to the spot for a Penalty kick. The Nationals converted, and the Troy City squad was sent to halftime down 2-0.
John Arndt said something I wasn’t quite expecting in the halftime huddle.
No Result, Yet a Lot of Effort
“I’ll take this game any day over the last one,” said Arndt, referring to the 0-0 tie just days earlier. He praised the team for their work ethic, and focused on how Troy City could’ve been tied or even up in the match, but unfortunate mistakes led to their deficit. After drawing up schematics, TC took the field for the 2nd half, and it was more of the same.
The pace of play was the same, the effort level and intensity never changed, yet the ball never found the back of the net. The lines have changed a smidge since the beginning of the season, but we’re at a point now where the girls have had plenty of time to connect and learn how their teammates play.
Many players took their shot, but in the 2nd half, the young goalkeeper for the Nationals rarely had a direct shot on, with many of them going far wide or being blocked by the defense. Still, John Arndt prefers this type of game.
“The feeling I had from the Tuesday game compared to today is totally different,” he started, “the atmosphere, the way the girls played had a lot more intensity and energy, and that’s what we want every time. We obviously want consistency, and we’re figuring it out, but our last 6 games we’ve been playing really well. We’re looking to keep climbing higher.”
Troy City WFC will return home before the Independence Day break on July 2nd at 6pm against the Michigan Stars, where they will finish UWS play.
You can follow Garrett Pog on X and Instagram @itsGarrettPog, and you can email him at garrettpog@gmail.com for any inquiries.
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