MONROE - Sophomore Morgan Seffrood worked to improve her attacking and finishing off goals many days in the winter during indoor open gyms with her Monroe High School soccer teammates.
The finishing practice came in handy Tuesday as Seffrood scored three goals to lead Monroe to a season-opening 7-1 win over Sparta at a blustery Honey Creek Park.
"I really worked hard coming from last year into this season," Seffrood said. "It paid off. I couldn't have done it without my time."
The Cheesemakers set the tone early, scoring three goals in the first 21 minutes. Seffrood scored her first goal on an assist from senior Maddie Kallgren at 6 minutes, 18 seconds. Seffrood then beat Sparta's goalie to the ball and powered in a goal on assists from sophomore Brynn Ritschard and Reily Pond. Kallgren punched in a goal to the near post on a throw-in by senior Sabrina Jorgenson at 21:31 to give the Cheesemakers a commanding 3-0 lead.
Kallgren scored two goals and had two assists. The Cheesemakers outshot the Spartans 28-4.
"I think it set an example and definitely showed that we are capable of taking those shots on goal," Seffrood said. "It's how we should play every game. I think we played really well passing the ball, keeping possession and communicating. I think we worked well together as a team and that led to a lot of goals."
Kallgren saw a lot of positives during the first game.
"It gives us confidence and momentum going into the next game," she said. "I think it was super important to come out strong and show this is the tempo that we are going to play at."
Ritschard scored on a pass by Kallgren at 34:18 to give the Cheesemakers a 4-0 lead at the half.
The Cheesemakers won the opener despite having just two substitutes. The Cheesemakers received a scare when sophomore Olivia Werth went down with an injury, but it proved to be just cramping in her leg.
Monroe coach Miriam O'Neill was excited with the start and was proud the Cheesemakers dodged a bullet when Werth went down with 2 minutes, 30 seconds left in the game.
"It's always a concern when you don't have a deep bench," O'Neill said. "We didn't have a deep bench, and they knew that. They were going to play a lot of minutes. They were out to prove they could do it tonight. There will be some sharing of some players. Some of our JV players will play for us in other games."
Kallgren scored her second goal at 56:07 before Sparta's Aly Laugenburg struck to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 5-1.
Seffrood scored her third goal on a breakaway at 76:20 to give the Cheesemakers a 6-1 lead. Pond powered in a goal just past the near post on a pass from senior Shannon Rabotski to cap the scoring.
"I was very impressed by the composure in front of the goal," O'Neill said. "Last year we didn't always keep that composure. I think that comes with experience. It was nice to see so many people scoring and taking shots on goal."
Monroe freshman goalie Anna Latimer had four saves.
"I think Anna had a very nice first game," O'Neill said. "She's a great communicator. You hear her voice all of the time."
The finishing practice came in handy Tuesday as Seffrood scored three goals to lead Monroe to a season-opening 7-1 win over Sparta at a blustery Honey Creek Park.
"I really worked hard coming from last year into this season," Seffrood said. "It paid off. I couldn't have done it without my time."
The Cheesemakers set the tone early, scoring three goals in the first 21 minutes. Seffrood scored her first goal on an assist from senior Maddie Kallgren at 6 minutes, 18 seconds. Seffrood then beat Sparta's goalie to the ball and powered in a goal on assists from sophomore Brynn Ritschard and Reily Pond. Kallgren punched in a goal to the near post on a throw-in by senior Sabrina Jorgenson at 21:31 to give the Cheesemakers a commanding 3-0 lead.
Kallgren scored two goals and had two assists. The Cheesemakers outshot the Spartans 28-4.
"I think it set an example and definitely showed that we are capable of taking those shots on goal," Seffrood said. "It's how we should play every game. I think we played really well passing the ball, keeping possession and communicating. I think we worked well together as a team and that led to a lot of goals."
Kallgren saw a lot of positives during the first game.
"It gives us confidence and momentum going into the next game," she said. "I think it was super important to come out strong and show this is the tempo that we are going to play at."
Ritschard scored on a pass by Kallgren at 34:18 to give the Cheesemakers a 4-0 lead at the half.
The Cheesemakers won the opener despite having just two substitutes. The Cheesemakers received a scare when sophomore Olivia Werth went down with an injury, but it proved to be just cramping in her leg.
Monroe coach Miriam O'Neill was excited with the start and was proud the Cheesemakers dodged a bullet when Werth went down with 2 minutes, 30 seconds left in the game.
"It's always a concern when you don't have a deep bench," O'Neill said. "We didn't have a deep bench, and they knew that. They were going to play a lot of minutes. They were out to prove they could do it tonight. There will be some sharing of some players. Some of our JV players will play for us in other games."
Kallgren scored her second goal at 56:07 before Sparta's Aly Laugenburg struck to cut the Cheesemakers' lead to 5-1.
Seffrood scored her third goal on a breakaway at 76:20 to give the Cheesemakers a 6-1 lead. Pond powered in a goal just past the near post on a pass from senior Shannon Rabotski to cap the scoring.
"I was very impressed by the composure in front of the goal," O'Neill said. "Last year we didn't always keep that composure. I think that comes with experience. It was nice to see so many people scoring and taking shots on goal."
Monroe freshman goalie Anna Latimer had four saves.
"I think Anna had a very nice first game," O'Neill said. "She's a great communicator. You hear her voice all of the time."
