By By DON EDEN / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Niles girls' varsity soccer team had the first 10 shots against visiting Edwardsburg, but the Lady Eddies scored four times on their last 10 shots of the game to win 4-0 Wednesday.
"How we played in the first half made me happy, but was not happy in the second half," said a dejected Niles coach Jo Schau. "We need to capitalize when given the chance."
The Vikings (3-4) had a dozen chances to score in the first half with half of them being saved by Edwardsburg junior goalie Christina Hans with seniors Brittney Molnar and Dakota Price each having a trio of shots not finding the net.
Edwardsburg had four shots before intermission and the first came 28:30 into the game when senior Amanda Mooth rolled a direct kick from midfield to senior Viking goalie Beth Miller. "I was upset with how we played without intensity in the first half and were extremely lucky to be tied," Edwardsburg coach Ryan Rosenkratz noted. "Niles beat us to every loose ball in the first half and did not work hard at all."
Both teams traded shots for the first 10 minutes of the second half until freshman Aly Mooth headed a pass from senior Miriam Agudo past Miller that changed the momentum to Edwardsburg for good.
Junior Brea Eden of the Eddies scored 10 minutes later on a rebound off Miller that sophomore Ashlyn Chambers shot from 15 yards with her left foot.
"Beth (Miller) played the best she could and filled in admirably with our starting goalie not here but everybody else just watched the ball for the most part," stated Schau. "We stood on our right foot instead of our left and vice versa for the most part and looking forward to a good practice on how to perform better."
Aly Mooth achieved the hat trick with two goals within a minute with 14 minutes remaining to seal the victory with Agudo assisting on the first which allowed her to control the ball from midfield for a 10-yard left foot shot off the right post. The last goal was a replay except being unassisted and scoring with her right foot into the left corner.
Niles outshot the Eddies for the game 18-17 and had 10 shots on goal which also bettered Edwardsburg by a margin of one. The Vikings had three corner kicks compared to six by the visitors.
"The defense hustled and reacted a lot better in the second half which is probably the best 40 minutes we played all year," remarked Rosen-krantz. "I am very proud of the girls with their successful play in the second half but we need to play an entire 80 minutes against South Haven."
The Eddies host the Rams Thursday night and the Vikings will visit Brandywine Friday with both games starting at 5 pm.

Edwardsburg…4
Niles…0
Halftime Score
Edwardsburg 0, Niles 0
Second Half
E – Aly Mooth 51st minute (Miriam Agudo assist)
E – Brea Eden 61st minute (Ashlyn Chambers assist)
E – Aly Mooth 67th minute (Agudo assist)
E – Aly Mooth
Shots on Goal
Edwardsburg – 17
Niles – 18
Saves
Niles – 9 (Beth Miller)
Edwardsburg 10 (Christina Hans)
Records
Niles 3-4
Edwardsburg 5-1