Hohlmaier leads Ferri past Winman

Charlene Hohlmaier buried the lone goal off a corner kick in the 8th minute to lead the Ferri girls’ soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Winman on Tuesday afternoon, giving the Jaguars their second victory of the season.

Getting a victory over a team like Winman (3-2-3), which came into the game with one loss, should undoubtedly boost Ferri’s confidence as it looks to make a playoff push.

“This was a very huge win for us,” Ferri coach Bob Enright said. “These girls have been playing hard from day one, and they’ve gotten better and better every game. It was a big win because we’re trying to make a push for the playoffs.”

On the other side, Winman had its opportunities to net the equalizer down the stretch, with its best chance coming 11 minutes into the second half as Catelyn Kuncio sent a shot off the right post on a breakaway chance.

Although it couldn’t take at least a point away from the game, Winman coach Keith Randall was pleased with his team’s overall performance.

“We had some chances, and their only goal came on a corner kick,” Randall said. “The ball bounced the right way for them and it was the difference in the game. We played hard.”

Ferri’s best chance came in the opening minutes, and it capitalized.

Some good offensive pressure led to a corner kick, which was taken by Kiley Marandola. The cross made its way through traffic in front and found Hohlmaier all alone, who targeted the back of the net with Winman keeper Madison Clark away from her goal, giving Ferri a 1-0 advantage.

“Kiley took the corner and she does a great job,” Enright said. “She sent it right in the box and Charlene was able to pop it in. She was on the back side, where she belongs, and she put the ball right in. It was a great team play.”

Both teams had some chances down the stretch in the first half, but neither could capitalize.

Winman had the two best chances, but Cassandra Cirella and Kuncio both sent their bids north of the crossbar.

There weren’t many chances in the second half, with Ferri resorting to defensive mode late to preserve the one-goal cushion. As a result, that strategy made it extremely tough for Winman to create quality opportunities.

Kuncio had everyone beat 11 minutes into the second frame, but her shot missed tying the game by inches, hitting directly off the right post.

“We just need some more opportunities on offense,” Randall said. “I thought we had that goal that bounced off the post, I thought that was in. We had a chance at the rebound, but we were just a couple seconds late. Sometimes you win them, sometimes you don’t.”

Haley Gaunt played tremendous in net for Ferri, stopping all eight shots sent her way behind a strong defensive corps to secure the shutout.

“Defensively, we’re pretty tough,” Enright said. “We base our team on defense.”

Ferri will look to continue its winning ways today when it hosts Western Hills at 3:45 p.m.

Winman, on the other hand, will be hoping to get back in the win column when it travels to Park View for a 4 p.m. start on Tuesday.