Spettle nets hat trick, Norwalk beats Madison

NORWALK — With high expectations and nearly its entire roster back, the Norwalk High School girls soccer team upgraded his schedule in 2024. That included a home non-league match against North Central Ohio power Mansfield Madison on Aug. 24 at Contractors Stadium. The Truckers more than passed the first test. Sophomore standout Claire Spettle scored three times for a hat trick in Norwalk's 4-1 win over the Rams at the Warren C. Whitney Complex. The Rams entered the game with a 3-0 record and had outscored the three opponents by a 10-1 margin. Since 2020, Madison is 56-26-7 (.683 winning percentage) with three district titles and the Division II state championship in 2020. The Rams were 13-5-4 last season, which included 3-0 win over Norwalk in a sectional title match. In Saturday's win, Spettle and Abby Koenig each scored, the latter with 6:30 left in the first half for a 2-0 lead. Spettle's second goal extended the lead to 3-0 with 21:25 remaining, then she added her third goal — and sixth of the season and 54th of her career — with 10:48 remaining to make it a 4-0 lead. CJ Bennett had two assists for the Truckers, while goalkeeper Lilly Farmer had 15 saves. Norwalk (2-0) will host Shelby on Monday and visit Sandusky on Wednesday in two matches this week. BOYS SOCCER Maumee VCDC 4, Norwalk 2 NORWALK — The Truckers fell to 1-1 overall following a non-league loss to Maumee Valley Country Day School on Aug. 22 at Contractors Stadium. Norwalk hosts Mansfield Madison on Monday.