Seniors lead Plymouth to 8-0 victory on special night
Abigail Kuehneman (facing camera) and Vivian Christianson celebrate Kuehneman’s second-half goal against Howell.
Every high school “Senior Night” should go as well as the Plymouth’s girls soccer team’s special night unfolded Thursday.
Hosting Howell in their final KLAA West Division match of the season, the Wildcats celebrated their final-year players with a resounding 8-0 victory against the overmatched Highlanders.
Five of the winners’ eight goals were scored by seniors: Emma Johnson filled the net with three goals, while Abby Kuehneman and Maria Capaldi scored one goal a piece.
Sweet ice-breaking goal
Capaldi’s goal opened the scoring 19 minutes into the game when she ran down a perfectly-placed touch pass from Kuehneman and ripped a left-footed shot into the net that had been vacated by Howell keeper Ana Grimm, who ventured from the 18-yard box to defend Kuehneman.
The Wildcats led 2-0 at the half thanks to Johnson’s first goal with 7:17 left in the first half.
Johnson tallied two more goals in the first 13 minutes of the second half — the first one coming off her corner kick that was secured then dropped on the goal line by Grimm.
In between Johnson’s second and third scores, junior keeper Jayla Toins kept her clean sheet with a stellar one-on-one save against a Howell attacker.
Fantastic free kick by freshman
Kuehneman scored on a breakaway with 22:36 left before freshman phenom Vivian Christianson lasered in a free kick from about 20 yards out to extend Plymouth’s lead to 6-0. Eva Krstich was fouled on the play that set up Christianson’s free kick.
Plymouth’s Jillian Steffen upped the lead to 7-0 when she followed her own corner kick by chasing down the loose ball and chipping in a shot in traffic over Grimm.
Sophomore Maya Sleiman ended the game with a mercy rule-igniting score with 33 seconds on the clock.
Among the senior starters for Plymouth was fan favorite Mady McCarthy, who has missed the entire season due to an injury. McCarthy was subbed out seconds into the game as the crowd cheered for her.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
