The Westhill girls soccer team gained a lot of ground Thursday night, even without scoring a goal. After a 3-2-2 start, including two straight tough losses to Ridgefield and Trumbull, grabbing a point from the No. 1 ranked team in the state in Class L may just be what the doctor ordered for Westhill. In a match of defending state champions, the Vikings and New Canaan played evenly on the way to a 0-0 clean sheet.
"This is a good tie for us. We could have won it, but they played a little better in the second half," Westhill head coach Dave Flower said. "We feel like we forgot who we were lately, so we've gotten back to fundamentals. Mental attitudes have changed just because of a couple better results. Soccer is funny like that."
Westhill came out with a little extra spring in its step against the Rams. The Vikings controlled time of possession with nine shots on goal to the Rams' four. Westhill's strongest attackers came off the bench in the form of Tessa Dunster and Alouna Velaj, with two shots each on goal.
The Vikings defense did a stellar job of keeping the New Canaan offense quiet. Westhill keeper Jen Osher's only real challenge of the night was a free kick late in the second half that rocketed off the crossbar. New Canaan was offsides on the ensuing rebound, eliminating the threat. Vikings captain Haley Hilsenrath said the scoreless tie should be considered a victory for the team.
"It was a great turnaround game to give us the boost we needed after a rough start," Hilsenrath said. "We're off the negative stuff now. We'll definitely use this game as motivation for the rest of the season."
Westhill is now 3-2-3 on the year, still trailing Trumbull and Greenwich in the FCIAC West Division. The Vikings travel to Testa Field to take on Norwalk on Saturday.
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