Brooke Trouten had a simple strategy to beat the frigid weather.
Don’t slow down.
A combination of rain and winds that reached close to 15 mph and temperatures around 40 degrees didn’t stop Trouten from turning up the heat at Monroe’s Bunkleman Field.
The Monroe High senior’s movement helped propel her team to a 3-0 win over Ypsilanti Community, Tuesday night.
“I just never stop moving, none of us stopped moving,” Trouten said. “Once we noticed if we kept moving,kept the tempo, kept the pace – that’s when we turned it up and our bodies started heating up.”
Trouten scored both of her goals in the second half, with the first coming at the 23:58 mark on an assist from Rebecca Pace, then icing the game with her second goal at the 1:45 mark, again, assisted by Pace.
Chaffin touted Trouten’s two-goal performance – a brace – saying it was “a big deal in our world,” because a hat trick in soccer can include assists.
“She did exactly what she’s supposed to do, she knows where to be and she knows what to do with where she’s supposed to be,” coach Scot Chaffin said.
Early on, Trouten said she felt the chill in the air but focused on notching up the tempo after the intermission.
“The first half I was doing a lot of standing still,” she said. “The second half I kept moving and things warmed up a little for me.”
Chaffin was thrilled with his team’s resiliency in the face of the rough weather conditions and laughed at the Trojans’ ability to fight through it.
“That stuff doesn’t bother them, they love it, it might have been a bit cold, but they love the rain,” he said.
It didn’t take long for Monroe to shake off the inclement weather. The Trojans’ took a 1-0 lead on a corner kick from Chloe Pabin that was knocked in with a header from Zoe Leach.
Despite Leach’s tall frame and the encouragement of her coach, it’s the first time in Leach’s high school stint that she has scored that way.
“I’ve been begging Leach to do that for three years,” Chaffin said. “She’s the tallest one on the team and she’s been working and working on it and today’s the first day she got it. We’re going to be celebrating that one for a long time.”
Ypsilanti was unable to gain any offensive rhythm, which Chaffin said was an ode to the young talent the Trojans’ boast in the back.
Freshmen Gabbie Willis, Bella Reed and Allison Marcero kept Ypsilanti off-balanced during the match.
“That was three freshmen playing back there, their second varsity game of all time and they were rising up,” he said. “They’re going to be exciting to watch moving forward.”
Trouten gave credit to the team as a whole for the victory.
“I think we did well, the second half we really turned it up as a team, we were really connected – I’m super proud of us so far,” she said.
Senior Allison Younglove had the shutout in net for the Trojans’.
Monroe will look to improve on its quick 2-0 start to the season when they travel to Carleton Airport to face the Jets at 5:30, April 8.
“I think we have a good shot to go .500, maybe a little higher if we work a little harder,” Chaffin said.
