Hornets sting Trojans in shut out

GREEN BAY – On Tuesday, April 22, the Green Bay Preble Hornets (7-2) stung the Green Bay Southwest Trojans (0-3) in a commanding win with a final score of 8-0.

As the first conference game of the season for both teams commenced, the Hornets started with the ball, where they immediately flew and secured their first goal, scored by junior Yeniz Guzman Tapia, within the first 2 minutes of the game.

“I think we played good, came out strong,” said Preble Varsity Assistant Coach Grace Taylor. “We scored a couple good goals, definitely had a couple shots that we should have finished, but overall the defense held them to nothing and we had some great goals on the offensive side.”

As the Hornets maintained strong possession throughout the half, junior Olivia Wiernasz achieved a hat trick with three goals in the half, while freshman Mia Healy closed off the half with the fifth goal being scored at the 26 minute mark.

Although the second half began with kickoff by the Trojans, the Hornets managed to steal the ball away, maintaining their momentum by taking a shot within the first minute.

As the fight for a shutout continued, Weirnasz scored the sixth goal of the night, followed by a goal by sophomore Frida Dax, and closing the game with the eighth goal was scored by Weirnasz at the 56 minute mark. 

The game concluded after a 60 minute fight for goals and shutouts, as both teams began their conference fights.

“In conference every goal counts, every goal for, every goal against. We need to come out and finish the game, whether that means a mercy rule or as many goals as we can get. Shut them out to nothing and that’s how we should play every conference game,” explained Coach Taylor. “I think our passing today was really great, probably one of the best games we've had so far connecting with each other. As the season goes on we have definitely gotten better and better, connecting from defense, all the way up to our forwards and then into the goal definitely helped with most of our goals.”

While the Hornets have a week before their next conference competition, they will continue to train and work for their goals to reach the top.

“Our coach always says to just think about the next game,” said Preble senior Lola Dax. “We’re not going to under- or over-estimate any team. Any team is beatable, [we’re] keeping focus…We made a lot of good connections, especially in our passing. We’ve been working on switching the field more, which I definitely saw us doing which did lead to a few goals. So that was really great to see. And then the talent in the offense, just being able to have that technical skill of dribbling around the defense was also a big factor.”

The Preble Hornets will face off against Sheboygan South on Tuesday, April 22 at home in their next conference fight, while the Southwest Trojans will not compete until Tuesday, May 6, where they will also take on Sheboygan South at home.

While both teams have some time to rest, Dax explains that the Hornets will use this time to recuperate before they continue their conference fight.

“Especially resting up and keeping our players healthy, we do have some wear and tear injuries that just need to be rested and worked through. That will be something that I think we will all be working on,” said Dax.