MANKATO — The postseason is not quite here yet for the Mankato East girls soccer team, but it’s clear the Cougars are playoff ready.
East took on Big Nine Conference rival Austin at Thomas O. Anderson Fields on Tuesday and delivered a one-sided, 5-0 shutout. The triumph improved the Cougars to 11-2-2 and put them in position to grab the No. 1 seed in the Section 2A Tournament.
“We’re playing pretty well right now,” East coach Lizzy Vetter said. “We’ve improved a lot since the start of the season. I like where we’re at.”
There was a lot to like about Tuesday’s match. East controlled play from start to finish, outshooting the Packers 17-4. Austin rarely advanced the ball into East territory and, when they did, senior goalie Ashley Fischer was there to repel any scoring opportunities.
Junior forward Taylor Schilling led the home squad with three goals, including the game-winner in the 15th minute. She found herself alone with the ball about 35 feet off the right side of the goal and was able to pop it into the upper-left corner against keeper Felicia Thimmesch.
Schilling scored again about 10 minutes later with a close-in shot from the left side of the goal mouth. Ella Quist’s pass set up the score.
East scored once more before halftime. Freshman midfielder Kate Schimek shot the ball just underneath the cross bar at the 33-minute mark with an assist from Ali Peters.
“Taylor has really come on as a shooter for us,” Vetter said of Schilling. “She’s great in the attacking third and she’s really improved her range.”
Schilling agreed: “Playing with my summer team really helped me. I played with a lot of girls I don’t know and they taught me to play more aggressively. I’ve been trying to build on that this season.”
East continued its dominance in the second half. In the 49th minute, Eva Starkey converted a long strike from the right side that made it in over Thimmesch’s head. Schilling completed her hat trick five minutes later on a shot inside the box from the right side.
“Our goal has been to get the No. 1 seed in the section this year and it looks like we’re going to get it,” Schilling said. “Our younger players have improved a lot and everybody understands their roles. We got the top seed last year and I think that’s going to be our goal every year from now on.”
East plays New Prague on Thursday. The section seedings will be available on Sunday.