Griffin gets 5 goals in Demon victory

The Washington High School girls soccer team scored 15 goals all of last season and 10 of those came in one match, a defeat of Centerville that broke a three-year losing streak.

After being shut out in a 3-0 loss to Iowa City Liberty in this year's season opener, the Demons have accumulated 19 goals in a three-game win streak.

Trina Griffin netted five Monday in a 7-0 win over the visitors from West Liberty (0-2).

It takes a lot out of somebody to score five goals in a match.

'Yeah I'm pretty tired, but I'm pretty happy,” Griffin said.

Griffin is a sophomore and had just eight shots on goal during her freshman season.

She already has 10 goals this season with four against Keokuk Thursday and one against Mediapolis to go with the five Monday.

Other goals in the Mepo game Saturday were by Greta Rothe, who had three, Taylor Brinning and Lupita De la Rosa.

Other goals in Monday's match were Narely Torrijos and Halle Leyden.

Griffin started early, running down a pass from Abbygail Voss right down the middle of the field and kicking it past the goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead with less than 5 minutes elapsed.

It was 2-0 with 16 minutes, 43 seconds left in the first half when she dribbled in to the box and scored with a point-blank shot.

The second half created another obstacle with wind blowing strongly to the northeast and the Demons shooting at the south goal.

'I think the wind just made me want to score more,” Griffin said. 'It seemed like it was tough for us to score in the first half when the wind was going our way. I don't know why. I just know I needed to do all I could to make help my team win.”

It took awhile but Griffin wore a hat trick when she dribbled into the box and scored with 18:50 left in the match. Her fourth goal came when she ran down a pass from Torrijos on the left side and blasted the ball into the top right corner of the net.

Rothe fed her a pass with 9:22 left that Griffin blasted past the keeper for a 5-0 lead.

'I don't remember them all but I remember one where I made the mistake of shooting right at the goalie, so I knew I couldn't do that again,” Griffin said. 'I made sure to look in the corners where she wasn't at and that's where I started aiming at. I know I made them when I did that.”

Last year's assistant coach is now the WHS head coach and Protacio Marcelino has a strategy to light a fire under his team.

'One thing I tell them is to pretend that every time we play you have to pretend that it is the last minute of the game,” he said. 'Then with that pressure, they have to shoot. They have to try to score. As long as they keep that in mind, I think it makes a difference.”

Monday's match saw the ball on the Demon side of the field for a large percentage of play, regardless of the wind.

Olivia Pacha made five saves for Washington.

The coach also started the season practices off in a way that may have set the mood for the season.

'I think I worked them too much at the beginning of the season,” he said. 'I made them run a lot, so now everything is easier.”

Griffin has found the back of the net much easier to locate.

'Last year I don't think I ever scored, but I think our teamwork is a lot better this year,” she said. 'We got a few new people this year that are better at sending the ball down, so I can just sprint and score.”

There is that running the coach made them do becoming a factor.

'I think they have improved a lot,” Marcelino said. 'I told the girls if you want to play, then we are going to play. If you don't want to play, there is a spot right here on the bench for you.”

That offer brings out passion in his team.

'I think desire makes a difference,” he said. 'I think I pushed them really hard at the beginning of the year. It was all running and getting in condition. Then we spent a week of drills and using the ball. My goal is to help the girls win some games and I think that we have done it.”

The Demons play next when they travel to Mid-Prairie today for the Golden Hawks' season opener.