Columbus East has been playing girls soccer for just over 24 years, but Saturday afternoon, the Olympians picked up the program’s 300th win.
The Olympians broke open a close game at halftime by scoring three times in the second half to pull away for a 4-0 win against Class 2A No. 10 Roncalli. The victory was East’s second of the season, allowing it to reach the milestone.
“That’s just impressive,” said coach Ilya Schwartzman, who has won 162 of those games in just over 13 years. “I’m really pleased the way the program has been developing.”
Saturday, it took the Olympians offense a little while to develop. They broke the ice in the 25th minute when Abby Miller finished a cross from Sarah Park.
Lindsey Stoughton made it 2-0 with an unassisted goal in the 47th minute. Then in the 62nd minute, Park brought down a high ball about 15 yards out, turned and put it in the net for a 3-0 lead.
Miller added her second goal off an assist from Emily Stiles in the final minute. The goals were Miller’s first two of her varsity career.
“We work really well together, and we’re just glad we got the win,” said Miller, a sophomore. “It was nice.”
East (2-0) outshot the Rebels (2-1) 31-5. The Olympians put 14 shots on goal to one for Roncalli.
Karisma Parker went the distance in goal for East and stopped the lone Rebels shot on goal on her way to the shutout.
“I thought from a defensive standpoint, we played very, very well,” Schwartzman said. “We work very hard on our defensive positioning and shape and aggressive defensive play, and so far, we’re doing a really good job with that.”
Both of the Olympians’ wins this season have come by 4-0 scores. They beat Bloomington North by that score in Wednesday’s opener.
“Offensively, we knew coming into the season we could be putting up some good numbers,” Schwartzman said. “So far, everybody is stepping up. We’re connecting very well offensively.”
