Girls soccer: Addy Schuster's triumphant return continues with North Ridgeville win over Firelands

SOUTH AMHERST — Addy Schuster is glad to be back. North Ridgeville's sophomore forward is making up for lost time, scoring twice in a 4-0 win against Firelands — making it five goals in four games — after missing last year with a broken ankle she sustained right before the season began. "Every time I step on the field, I just want to make up for what I missed last season," Schuster said. "I'm just trying to do my job and if I see an opportunity, I'm going to do my best to take it. I'm still experiencing some pain, but when I'm on the field none of it's on my mind. I've always been excited for high school soccer. To play with all of my friends and for my community ... I'm just happy." The Rangers (4-0-0) offense is certainly glad to have her, as it outshot Firelands (1-1-0) 16-10 overall and 12-7 on goal. North Ridgeville keeper C.C. Bouman saved all seven attempts, though she had to leave the game for about four minutes after she was shaken up on a play. Kimmy Sullivan kept the shutout intact until Bouman was able to return. North Ridgeville's defense did a great job keeping Firelands' speedy front line under control. Ariannah Floyd, a state qualifier in track, put pressure on the Rangers' back line — getting off three of the team's four first-half shots, including both shots on goal — but every time she found her way into the box at least two defenders had her marked. "Their No. 1 was really fast and skilled up top," North Ridgeville coach Tim Hoffman said of Floyd. "It took a lot to shut her down. We just had to stay composed and organized under the high pressure they put us in to keep that shutout." Schuster jumpstarted the offense 11 minutes into the game as she took a nice feed from Rosie Fontecchio down the right sideline and buried the one-on-one with Firelands keeper Kenzie Janosik. Minutes later, Alyssa Gimmel finished a feed from Lauren Mahaffey with a header to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead. Julia Kudrna gave North Ridgeville some more breathing room just before halftime when she finished a corner kick from Kai Antonio. "This season we've come up with a lot of goals," Gimmel said. "Getting the second goal kept the momentum from Addy's goal. We've been working on headers all the time in practice. Getting first to the ball and finishing the goal was great." Both defenses played strong in the second half, especially Janosik. The Firelands senior goalkeeper made some fantastic saves, including two diving attempts, to keep the score at 3-0. But the Falcons, despite putting together more shots in the second half, were unable to trim the deficit. Schuster punctuated the win with a goal in the final 10 seconds, finishing into a wide-open net off a cross from Anna Blumfeldt. "They're probably the best team we've seen so far this year," Firelands coach Kevin Ziegler said. "We've only played two games, but I mean in preseason and stuff, too. There are some things we needed to fix in the midfield and we fixed them after the first water break, but it was too late. North Ridgeville was very organized on defense. They were really tricky. We had some chances, but we just couldn't finish." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. North Ridgeville 4, Firelands 0 GOALS: (NR) Addy Schuster (11th and 80th minutes), Alyssa Gimmel (17th minute), Julia Kudrna (37th minute). ASSISTS: (NR) Rosie Fontecchio, Lauren Mahaffey, Kai Antonio, Anna Blumfeldt. SHOTS: North Ridgeville 16, Firelands 10 SHOTS ON GOAL: North Ridgeville 12, Firelands 7 SAVES: (NR) C.C. Bouman 7, Kimmy Sullivan 0; (F) Kenzie Janosik 8 FOULS: North Ridgeville 9, Firelands 4 CORNER KICKS: North Ridgeville 4, Firelands 1 FREE KICKS: North Ridgeville 4, Firelands 9 GOAL KICKS: North Ridgeville 5, Firelands 8 HALFTIME: North Ridgeville, 3-0