It’s hard to start a season any better than that.
Elizabeth Hoover was everywhere for the Rochester girls soccer team on Thursday, scoring a hat trick to lead the Warriors to a 3-1 win over Onalaska.
“(Hoover) was the superstar out there today,” Rochester coach Matt Ashton said. “She kind of took over and made the runs when she needed to.”
It was the Loggers who struck first at Rochester, as eighth-grader Greta Oien scored just four minutes into her varsity debut.
Ashton attributed the defensive mistake to some early nerves from a young defense, including a freshman keeper, and two freshmen center backs.
“Even though it’s non-league, it is different from middle school,” Ashton said. “We lost track of Oien.”
Hoover evened the score with her first goal in the 23rd minute, and she gave the Warriors the lead just minutes before halftime. Her third came in the 61st minute.
“Barring any injury, she could compete for Offensive MVP of the league,” Ashton said. “She could be that impactful of a player.”
Ashton was mostly pleased with the game, outside of the early goal, but he did note that their conditioning will have to improve to remain competitive later in games as the season goes along.
Rochester (1-0) will look to make it 2-0 on Friday at Eatonville.
