Prep girls soccer: Marshall’s Thorson is always moving forward

DULUTH — Late in the first half, Duluth Marshall’s Sylvia Black booted the ball over the heads of the Two Harbors defense Thursday and Nina Thorson did what she does best.

Thorson raced past the Agates defenders, took possession just in front of the goal and pushed it just past a diving Lily Benvie for her second score of the game.

The Hilltoppers scored three more in the second half, two by Mariah Hernesman and another from Sami Grosnick, and went on to win 5-1.

Thorson’s two scores brought her team-leading total to 18 this season and the team’s win total of eight doubles its victories in 2022.

“Last year was pretty tough — it wasn’t a very good season for us, but we have made a pretty good comeback,” Thorson said. “Everyone has just gotten better, our young girls aren’t playing like young girls and everyone has just gotten developmentally better.”

As an example, Black, a seventh-grader, has a goal and four assists, including Thursday’s pass to Thorson, and the Hilltoppers’ turnaround isn’t about just one person, it’s a “team effort,” according to Thorson.

The team put in a lot of work in the offseason to try to come back stronger, Hernesman said.

“That was a really big help and we’ve been able to click together very well,” she said. “We finally created that bond and we’ve been able to figure out how to play the ball. We know what each other is going to do and how to just play it perfectly to each other.”

Thorson works into that system using her creativity “on and off the ball,” according to Two Harbors coach Sydney Flannery.

“When she doesn’t have the ball, she moves and creates space to receive back and that sets up her players for opportunities,” Flannery said. “She’s always moving off the ball. A lot of players just stand — they’ll play a ball and then wait. She will play a ball and then she gets back into space and fills it in.”

The Hilltoppers players have learned to trust that Thorson is going to do exactly what Flannery said, get them the ball.

“We all have an understanding that we know she’s going to get it to us exactly where we need, when it needs to be there,” Hernesman said. “We all know that we need to be there in that space and open for her to be able to make that play.”

While Thorson is a great athlete with excellent soccer skill, that’s not the only place she stands out.

“She’s a very strong, technical player, but then her soccer IQ is just up there,” Flannery said. “She reads the game three steps ahead, whereas some players will read it when the ball comes.”

Thorson is clearly “offensively-minded,” according to Marshall co-head coach Wells McGiffert, and her instinct to move the ball forward draws opposing defenders to her “relieves a little bit of pressure” off the Hilltoppers’ own defense.

“She gets herself positioned well and looks for openings,” McGiffert said. “She plans ahead and, where possible, she’s looking to play the ball off and then move the whole team forward. She’s also very good at possessing the ball. As we look to move the ball forward, she can gather it, collect it, look for openings and then get our team moving forward and attacking.”

The Hilltoppers (8-2-4) have just one more game in the regular season, at 1 p.m. Saturday hosting Bemidji, but all eyes are squarely on the potential rematch with Esko in the Section 7A tournament. Duluth Marshall tied Esko 1-1 Sept. 21 and the only loss they’ve had since the season opener at Two Rivers was 5-0 on Sept. 19 to a red-hot Duluth East team that is also two classes up.

The defense has played extremely well behind Thorson and the Duluth Marshall attack, allowing multiple goals just three times in the team’s final 12 games.

“It’s allowed us to be successful and get the wins, get the tight ties that we’ve had to get,” McGiffert said. “It’s just been a great season, it’s been a lot of fun. We’re looking forward to sections. I think the team is ready — we’re hitting our peak right now.”

Jamey Malcomb has a been high school sports reporter for the Duluth News Tribune since October 2021. He spent the previous six years covering news and sports for the Lake County News-Chronicle in Two Harbors and the Cloquet Pine Journal. He graduated from the George Washington University in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in history and literature and also holds a master’s degree in secondary English education from George Mason University.