Derrick Webb, Staff Writer
WILLIAMSPORT — Chloe Tanler isn’t greedy. In fact, she’s everything that doesn’t embody that trait.
But on the soccer pitch, the Westfall senior is learning how to be a little selfish … and it’s the best thing that could happen to the Mustangs.
In a lopsided 11-0 win over Piketon Wednesday evening, Tanler scored four goals — three within the first 12 minutes of the match. Westfall coach Devin Schoonover then pulled her from her regular forward post so that her teammates could get a chance to score.
But before that happened, Tanler showed a glimpse of just how good she can be … even if she’s being just a little greedy.
“Chloe’s always been able to take people but she wouldn’t finish,” Schoonover said. “She would beat people, have the defender looking the wrong way and then pass it off. Now, she’s getting that sense of greediness.”
On the field, Tanler made sure to pelt Piketon’s goalkeeper with shot after shot. After the game, she made it a point to give her teammates their due credit.
In the victory, eight different players found the back of the net.
“We came out and didn’t want to think it was going to be an easy win,” Tanler said. “We knew we had to work hard for it and we did. Some people that never get to play scored some goals and I think that brought our confidence up.”
Tanler put the Mustangs (5-1, 1-0 SVC) on the board with 35:55 left in the first half. Then, just 36 seconds later, Mahaley Farmer made it 2-0 with a breakaway score.
Tanler scored her second and third goals at the 30:09 and 28:34 marks, extending the lead to 4-0. She’d score her fourth and final time with 22:56 left in the opening half and call it a night.
Westfall scored five more times to take a 9-0 lead at halftime — thanks to goals from Sydney Tinney (19:56), Madalynn Yates (18:38), Kylee Henry (8:16) and Madeline Kitchen (4:06).
In the second half, Carmen Walters converted a penalty kick into a 10-0 lead with 14:41 left in regulation before Marcy Dudgeon capped off the night’s scoring with 5:42 remaining.
After a season-opening loss to West Jefferson, Westfall has seemed to find its niche, winning five straight in the process … before Wednesday’s win, the Mustangs handed losses to Logan Elm (4-1), Amanda-Clearcreek (2-1), Circleville (2-0) and Southeastern (10-3).
“[The loss to West Jefferson] was an eye opener,” Schoonover said. “We thought it was going to be easy. We went into that game without three starters and it was rough. We’ve turned it around. A lot of it is just girls clicking. It’s communication and it’s getting along.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Tanler echoed that sentiment.
“Madalynn Yates and I, we try to just get everybody in the game,” Tanler said. “And it’s communication. We get along very well and we do a bunch of team-bonding. We’re all just one big family.”
Westfall is back in action at Miami Trace Thursday evening … a game they hope to claim revenge in after a 3-1 loss last season. Piketon (1-2, 0-1 SVC) attempts to bounce back Monday at West Union.
“The thing I wanted most was a good morale,” Schoonover said. “I wanted them to take [Thursday’s game against Miami Trace] seriously. This game was a game where we could work on communication and getting our morale up. We played Miami Trace last year and we lost. That was our turning point in the season. We started winning games after that.”