It was a pair of stifling defensive performances by the Washington soccer teams on Monday when they shutout Fairfield for a Southeast Conference doubleheader sweep.
Game one at the Washington Wellness Park saw the Demon girls put together a methodical victory on senior night where they led 3-0 at the break and eventually 4-0 for the season sweep of the Trojans (0-10). The first half scoring came from three different Demons with Audrey Anderson, Alex Murphy, and Greta Rothe finding the back of the net. Rothe knifed her way through the defense early in the second half to score for the second time and that gave Washington all the insurance they needed. Senior goalie Elyse Hunt tells KCII Sports what makes the defense tough. “Our center backs have a lot of speed. I can’t take credit for our defense. Half of the goals I save is because they cover my back. There are really good at clearing the ball out and that is something we talk about everyday in practice.” The Demons improve to 8-4 and 4-4 in the SEC.
Shorthanded five starters, the Demon boys were in a tussle with the Trojans, as the score was deadlocked at 0-0 after 40 minutes. The second half was controlled by the orange and black with Fabian DeJesus scoring right away and Cole Anderson gave them some breathing room with goals in the 50th and 78th minute for a 3-0 win. Anderson picked up four saves as the goalie in the first half before transitioning to the field and he says the time in goal is beneficial. “Whenever I am in goal I can always tell where their defense is standing at and where our forwards can go to. Being able to see the whole field in the first half definitely helped me score in the second.” Assists came from Joshua Perez and Manny Raymundo. DaShaun Westphal-Edwards spent the final 40 minutes in the net and compiled four saves. They improve to 9-2 and 6-2 in the league.
A total of 11 seniors were recognized for both teams in Rothe, Hunt, Ava Turner, Emma Stalder, Ellie Anderson, Cole Anderson, Bryan Cortes, Quentin Howard, Emre Akgul, DeJesus, and Erick Ortez. Jr. Both Washington teams get back at it Thursday against Keokuk.