Whew, that was too close for comfort. Soccer can be a funny game. You control the ball, get the crosses you want, the shots you want but fail to score. Despite the closeness of the score and the nervousness of the fans, the SK Lady Pioneers come out with a win in the second round of District 18 tournament play against their cross county rival, the Scott Eagles. The win assures the Pioneer team a berth in next week’s regional tournament.
One thing was for certain, when the game started, the girls were pumped up. There was a little concern that they might have been too positively charged with emotions. That wasn’t the case and the Pioneers locked the ball in on their attacking end of the field. Scott didn’t muster much offensive pressure. SK’s Keeper, Lyndsay Figgins, got in only two plays in the first half and SK only took one goal kick for the half. Krista Russell got the scoring started for SK. Russell had the ball near the goal line, faked a drop pass and then turned and shot the ball by the Scott goal keeper. 1-0 SK. The Pioneers got their second goal when Stephanie Cagle played the ball forward for speedster Brie Marti. Marti took the ball to goal and logged the second Lady Pioneer goal. Things were looking up for the Pioneers as they held the 2-0 lead. The one downer for SK came near the end of the half when freshman standout Jessie Cooper went down with a leg injury. Jessie was moving pretty well after the game was over but was still stinging. Being a tough as nails Cooper, she should be back for the game on Saturday.
To start the second half, Scott came out like they didn’t want their season to end. The Lady Pioneers, on the other hand, didn’t play with the same energy level that they did the first half. Several fouls called against the Pioneers just outside of the 18 yard box were definitely in the danger zone. Although she didn’t have a lot of saves, L. Figgins made some nice reads on some of the Scott direct free kicks and picked the balls out of the air. Scott was able to convert their only corner kick of the game for their only score which made the score 2-1. The goal seemed to wake up the Pioneers and they dug their heels in to preserve the win. For the game, SK outshot the Eagles by 36-7. The Scott keeper kept the Eagles in the game with 20 saves.
That takes care of the game but I really tip my hat to the Pioneer student body that came out in force to support the soccer team. Your support was no doubt the 12th man at Menefee Stadium and made a difference to the team. Thanks to all of the students and fans who came out to support the Lady Pioneers.
Other District Play:
The boys take on Scott tomorrow at 7:30 with a berth in the regional tournament on the line.
The girls play in the District Finals at 5:00 on Saturday at Menefee Stadium versus the Calvary/Villa winner.
Boys 18th District Final at 7:30 on Saturday at Menefee Stadium.
It would be awesome to see the same great crowds at the remainder of the tournament games.
It was all about the crowd tonight. Here former Pioneers Shari Cooper and Annie Hamm came out to cheer on their comrades.
Celebration after the game.
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