Following Avon’s 3-2 loss at Division I power Strongsville Saturday, the Eagles are 6-3 overall and 3-0 in Southwestern Conference play despite a starting lineup that includes two freshmen and five sophomores.

“We’ve got a lot of young talent right now, and what we’re starting and what’s going to be happening in the next two years is going to be exciting,” said coach Attila Csiszar. “My goal is, can we get down to Columbus to win a state title for Avon? That’s my ultimate goal.”

Leading the way for the Eagles is sophomore Sydney Thomas, who scored both of Avon’s goals against Strongsville, a program that has won five state titles and finished as runner-up five times. Thomas has exceptional speed, which certainly was on display against the Mustangs. On her second goal, she singlehandedly dribbled her way through and around the Strongsville defense, possessing the ball for about 65 yards before beating goalie Ava Therrien.

“Her speed is just ridiculous,” Csiszar said of Thomas. “She just pushes the ball and goes. And you know, one thing I can tell you is I have never coached a player who is so coachable. Every time we get on the line to run, she’s the first player down and back. She never takes her foot off the pedal. She is constantly focused on being the best. When you get a player like that, it’s easy to coach.”

Of course, with so much youth on the team, there are growing pains that must be endured. None of Strongsville’s three goals were classic soccer goals that involved passing and ball skills. Instead, each time the Mustangs found the ball loose in front of the Avon goal and simply booted it home. Csiszar spent much time talking to his team about making the opponent earn goals instead of giving them away.

“It’s the little silly mistakes that we make,” he said. “It’s communication, making sure players are marked up through the middle, recognizing game situations. It’s because of silly little things like that that we gave away the first goal. We have to be first to the ball, but sometimes we shy away. But it’s starting to come together, because I thought we played a good game. We just have the little mistakes that we need to clean up.”

In fact, the score could have been much worse had Avon goalie Haylee Ostrander not made several outstanding saves, sometimes from point-blank range. More than a few times she had to come out of the goal and defend a Strongsville player one-on-one.
“The one thing I love about her is she’s fearless. She’s not the tallest keeper, but she’s got a big heart. She works her tail off and she’s not afraid to hit or get hit," said Csiszar.

Strongsville opened the scoring just 2 minutes, 32 seconds into the match, as Sami Schulz muscled the ball into the goal from outside the box. Ostrander came out to attempt to kick the ball away, but Schulz managed to power the ball through Ostrander’s kick and into the goal.

Just over four minutes later, Thomas scored her first goal, as she and Lauren Tindera completed a perfect two-on-one break in which Tindera forced the lone defender to come over, leaving Thomas wide open. Thomas easily got around Therrien and put the ball into the nets.

The Mustangs took a 2-1 lead late in the first half, with Hadley Gieroski cleaning up a loose ball right in front of the Avon goal. Avon tied things back up just 3:30 into the second half on Thomas’s electric journey through the Strongsville defense, giving her a team-high 11 goals on the season.

The game-winner was scored with 22:23 left to play. Strongsville put a long free kick right in front of the goal. Ostrander tried to gather in the ball, but she ran into a scrum of players and managed only to deflect the ball instead of possessing it. Jenna Faron then found herself all alone in front of the goal and blasted the ball past Ostrander.

“I feel like we’re in a great position, especially in Division II,” said Csiszar. “If we’re putting up a fight like this right now with some young players, I think we’re going to be in good shape in the next two years.”

Avon will next take the field on September 17 as they return to SWC play at Midview.