Mount Vernon News

MOUNT VERNON — It was a long afternoon at Yellow Jacket Stadium for the Mount Vernon High School girls soccer team Saturday. The Yellow Jackets suffered a 6-0 defeat at the hands of Granville in nonconference action.

Jackets assistant coach Challyn Dobson said the team is in the midst of implementing a new offense, stating she was pleased that Mount Vernon was able to muster more of an offensive attack against Granville than it had in previous games this season.

“We’ve started a new strategy with our offense,” Dobson said. “We had a lot more shots on goal and opportunities today, so that’s looking up for future games down the road.”

Mount Vernon missed three key scoring opportunities in the first half that could have swayed the momentum of the game. Chelsea Boutin sent a shot to the left side of the goal that the Blue Ace keeper just deflected 30 minutes into the game when Granville held just a 1-0 lead.

Aubry Vonck then received a penalty kick a minute later, but her attempt veered just left of the post. With five minutes left in the half, the Jackets brought the ball into the Granville goal box, but several shot attempts were thwarted by the Blue Ace defense.

Turning those opportunities into goals will be a point of focus for the Jackets in upcoming practices, Dobson said.

“More offensive drills in practice, repetition with shots, finishing,” she said.

Mount Vernon’s defense held off the Granville attack for the better part of the first half, but with 15 minutes before the break, the Blue Aces made their first strike. Bailey Van Order took a shot from the far right that flew into the opposite corner over Jacket goalie Emily McBride’s head, and Granville was off.

Van Order would go on to score two more goals in the second half to pick up the hat trick. Hannah Combe finished with a pair of goals, one in the first half as time ran down and a penalty kick in the second 40 minutes. Kimberly Seidell added the another score for Granville midway through the second half.

As is often the case in tough losses, Dobson said the team has a host of things to work on before its next contest but pointed to the middle of the field as a particular area of concern.

“Our biggest thing right now to work on is our transition game,” she said. “Our midfield is a little sluggish.”