Prep soccer: Thompson, Syracuse answer road test at Roy in 4-0 shutout
Roy goalkeeper leaves match with injury after strong start
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- Syracuse sophomore Talia Thompson (8) celebrates with sophomore Jocee Eddy after scoring a goal during a contest vs. Roy High on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Roy. The Titans won their season-opener 4-0 over the Royals.
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- Roy High junior Eva Reed (15, right) dribbles around Syracuse sophomore Sophie Martin (15, left) during a contest on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Roy. The Titans won their season-opener 4-0 over the Royals.
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- Roy senior Nakiya Little looks on from the goal during a contest vs. Syracuse on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Roy. The Titans won their season-opener 4-0 over the Royals.
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- Syracuse senior Madi Shillig tosses the ball to her teammate during a contest vs. Roy High on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Roy. The Titans won their season-opener 4-0 over the Royals.
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- Roy High senior Gracie Williams gets a pass off before Syracuse senior Brooke Vorwaller arrives during a contest on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Roy. The Titans won their season-opener 4-0 over the Royals.
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- Syracuse sophomore Talia Thompson leaves the goal after slipping her score past Roy senior Nakiya Little (pink, right) during a contest with Roy High on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Roy.
ROY — Talia Thompson, finding the net twice during the second half, provided the tone shift Syracuse High girls soccer needed to open the 2024-25 high school sports season with a 4-0 shutout over Roy High on Wednesday afternoon.
Up 1-0 at halftime, the Titans (1-0) picked up two more scores within three minutes of each other thanks to Thompson’s boot on two assists by sophomore Jocee Eddy.
Syracuse had just one week together as a team leading up to Wednesday’s match, Thompson said. The sophomore forward said the first half was something of an icebreaker for the Titans, as Roy held their own with Syracuse for much of the first 40 minutes.
“Half the girls are doing stuff over the summer so it’s always hard,” Thompson said. “We only get like a week of practice before our first game with our whole team. We’ve really jelled as a team (so far) and it’s been really good because we’re connecting better, making better passes and making better decisions as a team.”
Little replaced Roy sophomore Kenlin Baddley (three saves) during the first half after the starting keeper sustained an apparent facial injury during the 11th minute. Quickly picking up two saves, Little had what was seemingly her third of the match until Titans senior Hailey Curtis, assisted by Thompson, chased down the loose ball and tapped in the easy score.
The Royals (0-1) tabbed three-year assistant Bailey Pollock as the program’s head coach in April. The Roy alum said the temperature, nearing upwards of 100 degrees, worked against her group on Wednesday.
“They were pretty gassed in the heat,” Pollock said. “We just need to work on endurance more, which is a lot of what we do during the preseason because the heat is such a factor.”
Roy’s best look at disrupting Syracuse senior Madi Shillig’s shutout came during the first half, when the sun was still bearing down on the pitch. Senior Taylor Delgado’s shot nearly pushed its way through Shillig’s hands — and that’s the kind of power Pollock’s looking for.
Pollock said her team expects to become more aggressive on goal each week.
“I think they set the bar pretty high,” Pollock said of her 5A side’s game against a 6A opponent. “Especially for the first game of the season and losing girls to West Field this year — so did Fremont — so I think we’ve started at a good point playing (against) a region above our level.”
Both squads return to action this week as Roy travels to Morgan on Wednesday and Syracuse adds its second road test of the season Thursday at Green Canyon.
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story attributed two of Syracuse’s assists incorrectly. The Standard-Examiner regrets the error.