WINFIELD - Kim Aurelio spoiled her alma mater's home opener Tuesday evening.

The Nitro coach saw her team more than hold its own against Winfield, one of the top teams in the state, in forging a 1-1 tie. A crowd of about 60 attended the Class AAA matchup at Winfield High School.

Aurelio played at Winfield from 1997-01 and is in her first season as head coach of the Wildcats (1-1-1). Nitro finished 11-7-4 last season, losing in the section final.

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Chris Dorst

Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008 - Winfield's Anne Daly (left) and Nitro's Chelsea Gilliam battle for control of the ball.

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"I was impressed. Winfield's a great team. We scrimmaged them and were pretty competitive with them at that point. We're still developing.''

Winfield (1-0-2) returns most of its players from a squad that finished No. 4 in the state coaches association rankings last year and was just a step away from the state tournament.

 "This team has a lot of talent, [but] we've got a lot of work to do,'' said Generals coach Marshall Hoff. "We've seen some good teams and everybody is growing each match.

"The day you take [a] team for granted or look at them a bit differently, you'll end up with a loss. Goals are going to be hard to come by and hard fought to get.''

Winfield junior Jordan Brock scored from about 15 yards out off an assist from senior Molly Murphy to grab a 1-0 lead with 18:58 left in the opening half. Murphy gained control of the ball and passed off to Brock at the top of the penalty box. Brock turned and fired the ball into the net.

A little more than four minutes later Nitro knotted the game at 1-all on junior Emily Cooperrider's unassisted goal at the 14:46 mark. Cooperrider sent a pass into the box and a Winfield defender sent it back out, but right to Cooperrider, who then sent a shot into the upper-left corner of the net.

Nitro controlled most of the play in the second half and kept Winfield's scoring opportunities to a minimum.

A Generals defender had to head the ball out of the net with 12:41 remaining in the second half to keep the Wildcats from seizing the lead. Brock had a breakaway down the right side, but didn't hit the ball squarely, sending it wide right and out of bounds with 9:55 to go.

Winfield senior Erika Hoff sent the ball into the middle of the box on two occasions with less than two minutes to play, but no one was there each time. Nitro senior Lindsey Kerns and Winfield freshman Faith Farley turned in nine saves apiece.

Reach Tommy R. Atkinson at 348-4811 or tatkin...@wvgazette.com.

WINFIELD - Kim Aurelio spoiled her alma mater's home opener Tuesday evening.

The Nitro coach saw her team more than hold its own against Winfield, one of the top teams in the state, in forging a 1-1 tie. A crowd of about 60 attended the Class AAA matchup at Winfield High School.

Aurelio played at Winfield from 1997-01 and is in her first season as head coach of the Wildcats (1-1-1). Nitro finished 11-7-4 last season, losing in the section final.

"I haven't been back since I graduated in '01,'' said Aurelio, whose parents were in the stands Tuesday. "I was pretty happy with the way [our team] played.

"I was impressed. Winfield's a great team. We scrimmaged them and were pretty competitive with them at that point. We're still developing.''

Winfield (1-0-2) returns most of its players from a squad that finished No. 4 in the state coaches association rankings last year and was just a step away from the state tournament.

 "This team has a lot of talent, [but] we've got a lot of work to do,'' said Generals coach Marshall Hoff. "We've seen some good teams and everybody is growing each match.

"The day you take [a] team for granted or look at them a bit differently, you'll end up with a loss. Goals are going to be hard to come by and hard fought to get.''

Winfield junior Jordan Brock scored from about 15 yards out off an assist from senior Molly Murphy to grab a 1-0 lead with 18:58 left in the opening half. Murphy gained control of the ball and passed off to Brock at the top of the penalty box. Brock turned and fired the ball into the net.

A little more than four minutes later Nitro knotted the game at 1-all on junior Emily Cooperrider's unassisted goal at the 14:46 mark. Cooperrider sent a pass into the box and a Winfield defender sent it back out, but right to Cooperrider, who then sent a shot into the upper-left corner of the net.

Nitro controlled most of the play in the second half and kept Winfield's scoring opportunities to a minimum.

A Generals defender had to head the ball out of the net with 12:41 remaining in the second half to keep the Wildcats from seizing the lead. Brock had a breakaway down the right side, but didn't hit the ball squarely, sending it wide right and out of bounds with 9:55 to go.

Winfield senior Erika Hoff sent the ball into the middle of the box on two occasions with less than two minutes to play, but no one was there each time. Nitro senior Lindsey Kerns and Winfield freshman Faith Farley turned in nine saves apiece.

Reach Tommy R. Atkinson at 348-4811 or tatkin...@wvgazette.com.