Marshall outduels Esko in girls soccer section title rematch
DULUTH — In the practices leading up to their Section 7A championship rematch against Esko, Duluth Marshall co-head coach Tim Thorson stressed to his players the importance of finishing when the opportunity presented itself.
By all accounts, the group got the message loud and clear.
The Hilltoppers found the back of the net three times, including the eventual game-winner by forward Nina Thorson in the second half to punctuate a 3-2 win over their section rivals at Marshall High School.
The grit shown by the team en route to the hard-fought victory drew the praise of Thorson as something they can build on moving forward.
"This is a level of intensity that (we) haven't played yet this year," he said of the challenge posed by Esko. "So I was really pleased with how we responded. I was really pleased with how they played, how hard they played. So I think it gives us confidence."
Esko, which is coming off of back-to-back state tournament appearances, entered the matchup with only three goals against through their first eight games, making it an especially tough defeat.
"Overall today we did not play our best game," said Esko head coach Sharon Lahti. "I felt like we have been maybe not on the upward trend like I was hoping we would have at this point in the season, so that's frustrating for the girls because they know that they're not playing their best game or at the level that they would like to be playing at."
Esko entered unfamiliar territory late in the first half when they were forced to play from behind in the wake of a free-kick goal by Giulia McGiffert at the 23:47 mark, which put the Hilltoppers in front 1-0.
McGiffert was the first of three different goal-scorers in the win in an impressive showcase of depth.
"I think that we have dangerous players, as they do as well," said Thorson. "And we told our kids before the game I said I thought it was going to be four goals this game, it was actually five. We're gonna score. We're gonna attack. We've sometimes in the past felt like we've been too defensive and now we're trying to improve on that."
The go-ahead goal sparked an offensive surge by Esko in the minutes that followed with a corner-kick opportunity and a big save by Addison Bastien. The visitors ultimately broke through with a goal by Abigail Naud to make it a 1-1 score at halftime.
The Hilltoppers took the lead once more at the 25:30 mark of the second half and never relinquished it following a long-range goal by eighth-grader Sylvia Black, whose shot sailed over goalkeeper Emma Padgett's head and into the net.
"Sylvia had a great shot," said Thorson. "She actually did that twice where she came across the middle and she closed her hips up to bring it across and take a shot. First shot she didn't hit quite right. Second shot she hit dead on..."
Nina Thorson provided an insurance goal less than seven minutes later for a 3-1 game.
"We've been working on (the) give-and-go and so we just want to go up back and through and then I got a lucky break down the middle," she said. "So that was all from my team."
Staring down a two-goal deficit for the first time this season, Esko rallied to cut the deficit back to one with low shot to the left corner of the net by Celia Preiner assisted by Britta Koski, but was unable to complete the comeback bid.
Esko (7-2) will look to regroup on Saturday, Sept. 21, when the team takes on No. 2 ranked Providence Academy at 3 p.m. Marshall (5-1-2) will travel to Forest Lake to take on Lakes International Language Academy at 1 p.m.
