Seaholm Girls Soccer Team Wins 4-2 Over Ferndale

BIRMINGHAM – The girls varsity soccer team saved its best for last on Tuesday night. The Maples scored twice in the final 25 minutes against Ferndale to win 4-2. 

Seaholm's Jen Kendal scored the game-winning goal in the second half, cutting between two defenders in front of the net. The freshman made the Ferndale Eagles' goalie commit to one side and Kendal softly tapped it past her. It was Kendal’s second goal of the night for the Maples (7-4-2).

“She’s only a freshman, but she’s been playing travel soccer for a long time and playing a good level of club soccer,” Seaholm coach James Tyers said. “She’s got great speed and technically she’s pretty good.”

In the first half, she used that speed to beat the entire Ferndale defense down the field and score Seaholm’s first goal of the night with an easy open look.

Ferndale coach Steven Motter said it wasn’t Kendal and Seaholm’s speed that bothered his team, it was his defenders losing track of where the ball and play were going.

“It’s not the speed that kills us,” Motter said. “(It's) losing track of a mark and having to chase that person. It’s those mental lapses; it’s the girl getting five steps on you and then have to (be) chasing rather than marking your man.”

The Eagles (8-7-1) went down 2-0 in the first half and came back to tie it 2-2 with two goals from Kelsey Wilson.

Right before halftime, Wilson scored on an assist from Ferndale's Micaela Ellis. Ellis and Wilson pushed the ball up the field after a goal kick. Ellis connected with Wilson on a nice pass across the field and Wilson kicked a perfect shot back across the net for the score.

The junior scored again on a corner kick in the second half. Wilson centered the kick and ran from the corner back into the play. The ball bounced around and made its way back to Wilson. She shot it right away before the Maples goaltender was able to get back in position for the goal.

“Sometimes they get a little bit disoriented, they lose their shape and that causes problems. We give the ball away and put ourselves under pressure,” Tyers said. “But once we get organized again and get control of the ball, (it) seems, with most teams, we play to put them under pressure.”

Seaholm did get exactly that. After scoring twice, Ferndale couldn’t get any push up the field. The Maples kept attacking and grabbed the momentum back with Kendal’s second goal.

“I think they’re tired, we have a small squad and play a lot of very athletic teams,” Motter said. “We’re mentally fatigued and it’s starting to catch up.”

Tyers was happy with how his girls set up the offense late in the game. Seaholm's Jackie Mee helped develop a couple of scoring opportunities that could have made the game a blowout, but the Maples just missed the net.

Overall, it was another great team effort that Tyers has come to expect.  

“This is probably the best group of girls I’ve had to work with here,” Tyers said. “They work really hard everyday when they come to practice and really try to play a good game of soccer.”