Kendro’s hat trick helps Norwin girls soccer defeat Hempfield

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, September 18, 2017 | 10:06 PM

Norwin was not fit to be tied this time.

The mighty Knights are TopDrawer's No. 1 girls soccer team in the nation, and they looked every bit the part Monday night. Senior Lexy Kendro had a hat trick as Norwin avenged last year's tie against Hempfield with a convincing 7-1 victory in a Section 4-4A game at Spartan Stadium.

Norwin has three ties in the last three-plus seasons and one came last year at Hempfield, 1-1.

“We brought up (last year's tie), and it was motivation for us,” said Kendro, who has 10 goals and three hat tricks this season. “We had a lot of shots here last year but couldn't score. We weren't going to let them stop us.”

As tactful as it was graceful at times in the first 40 minutes, the win moved Norwin's unbeaten streak in section games to 42.

The Knights (6-0, 3-0) have outscored their opponents 39-2 this season.

Norwin went to the long ball to spread out Hempfield (1-6, 0-2) and create scoring opportunities.

“We want to use the whole field and spread it out because we play very fast,” Norwin coach Lauren Karcher said. “We came out strong, and it was big to do that right off the bat.”

Norwin felt out the Hempfield defense early but finally struck at the 27:40 mark of the first half when senior Michelina Rush got ahead of a few defenders and dribbled a shot past Hempfield goalie Gilian Bierhals.

In the 26th minute, sophomore Megan Dietz came set at the 20-yard line and fired to make it 2-0. With Norwin still well in control of possession, Kendro veered open and took a pass from the far corner and scored for a three-goal advantage in the 27th minute.

Norwin has not had any trouble getting shots. It outshot Seneca Valley significantly Friday in a tight, 2-1 win. Converting the chances will make the Knights that much more dangerous.

“To beat Norwin you have to play perfect defensive shape,” said Hempfield coach Adam Shaffer, a Norwin graduate. “You have to communicate well and be strong to the ball. We played with them for a while, but they are just very strong. Everybody knows they're the team to beat.”

Kendro showed her open-field skills with a breakaway score in the 29th minute before senior Rutgers recruit Emily Harrigan curved in a nifty shot from 10 yards to make it 5-0 just before the half.

“Getting ahead early is what we want to do,” Kendro said. “We know if we do that, we won't have too many scary situations.”

As Norwin defenders suffocated ball handlers, Hempfield's offense went slack until the 52nd minute when the Spartans finally broke thtough.

Sophomore Sydney Patrick got Hempfield on the board — just the fourth goal allowed by Knights' goalie and Ohio University commit Sam Wexell in section play in two-plus seasons — on a direct kick in the 52nd minute.

Wexell had two saves. Norwin peppered Hempfield with 23 shots.

“We'll have to work on some things,” Karcher said about allowing a goal.

Kendro put back a rebound to extend the lead to 6-1 in the 64th minute, taking a tumble to the right of the net as the ball moved nylon.

Freshman Morgan Sigut capped the Knights' scoring with a minute left.

Norwin got assists from Katy Ericson, Lacey Bernick, Emily Arnold and Abby Bartos.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.