Mooney girls put on great showing

The talented, No. 4-ranked Cardinals dominated
Cincinnati Mariemont, 5-1.

By JOHN KOVACH

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

STRUTHERS — In order to become a better soccer team week after week, you have to play better competition week after week.

And in order to help talented players actualize their potential, they have to play against other talented players on a consistent basis.

That’s probably the main reason why the Cardinal Mooney High girls soccer team is ranked No. 4 in the state.

And that’s certainly why the Cardinals (4-1-4), led by junior forwards Katie Griswold and Ashly Cuba plus an outstanding defense, were able to produce a 5-1 victory over perennially-strong Cincinnati Mariemount Saturday afternoon at the James J. Simon Sr. Soccer Park.

“The strength of our schedule makes us a better team every week, which means that when the playoffs come we’ll be much better,” said Mooney coach Jason Keller, whose team took a 2-0 lead in the first five minutes.

“We probably have the toughest schedule in the state, and many of the coaches agree that we probably have the toughest schedule,” he said.

The Cardinals’ record includes a 0-0 tie against Walsh Jesuit, which is the state’s top-ranked team in Div. I and finished first in the nation last year.

Griswold, Cuba, Vinopal sparkle

Griswold scored two goals and had one assist while Cuba and junior midfielder Maggie Vinopal each had one goal and one assist to lead Mooney.

Senior midfielder Dina Pelly had the other goal while junior midfielder Alex Sierra contributed an assist.

Mariemount (8-3), which trailed 2-0 at the half and 5-0 with a little over five minutes left in the game, averted a shutout when sophomore midfielder Kelsey Hogan scored a goal on an assist from sophomore midfielder Megan Holland.

“They’re good and we knew coming in they were one of the best teams in the state,” said Mariemont coach Mike Haney. “Cuba and Griswold are two of the best players in the state.”

Haney said Mooney’s defense was nearly leak-proof.

“We had a hard time getting behind them. They had a center-back that cleaned up a lot of our mistakes. They don’t have any weaknesses and they didn’t have any weaknesses to exploit.”

But Haney still considers his team to be pretty good.

“I still consider our team to be one of the top teams in the state,” he said. “Probably not in the top 10, but still one of the better teams.”

Keller lauds leaders

Keller, a former Boardman High and Robert Morris College soccer player is in his first year at the helm, said that Griswold and Cuba enjoyed great performances.

“Cuba and Griswold have always been our leaders, and the defense played well,” said Keller, the son of Tom Keller, former Westminster College soccer coach.

He said that Griswold “has speed and finishing [determination],” meaning that when she gets the ball she is attracted to the goal “like a magnet.”

And that Cuba’s main assets are “ball skill and speed.”

Keller, who also played professional soccer for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, said that senior goalkeeper Megan McLaughlin spearheaded Mooney’s defense.

“McLaughlin controls the whole [net] and she has great reach and is a quick goalie,” said Keller, noting that McLaughlin “had some real good games when we play stronger teams.”

McLaughlin had four saves, including one that she had to stretch far to her right to stop, and another that she reached high to bat over the net.

Mooney took nine shots to Mariemont’s 10. Mariemont’s goalie, Adele Bruggeman, had one save.

Mooney strikes early

Mooney struck early in the game with Griswold’s goal on Cuba’s assist at about 37:27 to open a 1-0 lead. Then, about two minutes later, Pelly found the net on Griswold’s assist to make it 2-0, which held all the way through the first half.

Then in the third quarter, Cuba found the range behind Vinopal’s assist at 28:33 to boost Mooney’s lead to 3-0.

And about five minutes later, Griswold connected again on Sierra’s assist to make it 4-0.

Vinopal capped Mooney’s scoring with a goal on a direct kick at about 16:20 for a 5-0 advantage.

Hogan then scored with about 5:29 left on Holland’s assist to avert the shutout for Mariemont.

kovach@vindy.com