Naomi Smith leads Marion past Mount Vernon

MOUNT VERNON — Before this season, Marion sophomore Naomi Smith didn't usually play at the top of the field.

She had grown up playing either on the middle or on the wing. But when Indians coach Erik Trilk decided to put Smith at the head of the attack, she took it with an open mind.

And after finding success with that formation all year, the Indians did it again. Marion beat Mount Vernon 2-1 on Tuesday at Mount Vernon High School in the Class 2A substate semifinals, thanks in part to a pair of goals from Smith.

It wasn't just Smith, though, who impressed Trilk. It was a team effort, he said, that kept the Indians' postseason streak alive.

'The thing we talked about all week last week in practice was we just want to put ourselves in the opportunity to play a second game, and they were able to do that,' Trilk said. 'They played pretty much flawless soccer tonight.'

The move to the top of the field, though, put Smith in the perfect position to score a pair of goals — one in the 44th minute and one in the 61st — to keep Marion ahead of a pressing Mustang squad. While being up front may not necessarily give the team an advantage, Smith said being at the head of the formation allows her to see the entire field develop much easier.

'I would say it gives me a personal advantage to where I'm able to assess the field and how we're going to play together this game,' Smith said. 'And when he puts me up top, everybody else in positioned in the right places, and we just finish it out together.'

The Mustang's, though, kept the pressure alive throughout the entire game. Just six minutes after Smith's first goal, Mount Vernon senior Kaitlyn Volesky found the back of the net to tie the game back up. And, in the final minutes of play, the Mustangs had several shots on goal to nearly send the match into overtime.

'It's like looking in a mirror,' Trilk said of Mount Vernon. 'You look at all of their scores, and you look at ours, it's like looking in a mirror. We knew it was going to be even, we knew that they had some studs, but (we) did what we needed to do today, and (we) played awfully well.'

The Indians will take on Union-La Porte City next with a trip to the state tournament on the line. Even though Union, who earned the No. 1 seed in the region and beat Decorah 10-0 on Tuesday, poses a big threat, Smith said she isn't worried.

'We really want to get to state this year, and I really think we can,' Smith said. 'So I'm not thinking about Union, I'm not thinking about their stats right now. I'm just thinking about how they're just another team, just another steppingstone to state.'

l Comments: ryan.young@thegazette.com