It took a few days for Emporia State women’s soccer coach Jim Schneiderhahn to move senior Andrea Harris from defender to forward.
It took less than an hour Wednesday night to make him look like a genius.
Harris sparked ESU against Avila, scoring the first two goals in the Hornets’ 3-0 victory at the TRYSA Soccer Complex.
“She gained the start there Wednesday evening,” Schneiderhahn said, “and obviously made me look good.”
The victory snapped a five-game losing streak for ESU.
“I don’t want to sound conceited,” Schneiderhahn said with a laugh. “Sometimes, things just sort of happen.”
In this case, the Hornets were down a forward when they played Washburn two weeks ago, as Megan McGuirk was held out with an injury.
Schneiderhahn tried different players at the fourth forward position but didn’t have much luck finding a replacement.
He finally turned to Harris, who showed interest in the role after playing there earlier in her college career.
“One thing I know about Andrea is she’s going to battle and she’s going to go hard,” Schneiderhahn said. “What we noticed when we put her up there is everybody got physical.”
On Wednesday, Schneiderhahn also saw his team get increased offensive production because of the Wichita native.
Her first goal came in the 27th minute, as she scored from six yards out on an assist from Amanda Miano.
In the 44th minute, Harris struck again, scoring off the rebound of a penalty kick from McGuirk.
The freshman McGuirk wouldn’t miss her second opportunity, putting in an unassisted goal in the 74th minute from just inside the box.
“I think tonight, by far, was the best we’ve played,” Schneiderhahn said, “as far as being physical and really going hard.”
ESU goalie Erin Allen made three saves and recorded her 10th career shutout.
Despite being an NAIA school, Avila competed just as Schneiderhahn believed it would.
“I knew that they were going to be a team that was going to battle and be physical,” Schneiderhahn said. “It wasn’t a patsy. We needed to go in and go in hard.”
ESU improved its record to 2-6 with the victory.
The Hornets have a pair of home matches this weekend, facing Missouri Western at noon Saturday and Northwest Missouri at 1 p.m., Sunday.
Both games will be played at the TRYSA Soccer Complex.