The Carl Junction Lady Bulldogs outmaneuvered the Willard Lady Tigers’ aggressive defense, scoring the game’s only two goals in the first half. The Lady Bulldogs improve to 10-2 with Thursday night’s 2-0 win over the Lady Tigers.
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Coach Ed Miller knew the Lady Bulldogs would need a strategy to counter Willard’s aggressive offense.
“We knew they were a physical team,” said Miller. “We wanted to try to spread them out and pass the ball to keep possession and work around their aggressiveness. I think for the most part we did that.”
The Lady Bulldogs’ Kecia Houpt scored in the 10th minute on a penalty kick, 1-0.
“We got that penalty kick, and as I was thinking about it, and I thought I’d aim into the corner and aim low,” said Houpt. “Our coaches told us that’s where we’re going to get everyone. So I shot to the right corner, and it went in. It was really exciting.”
Sydney Grimes pulled out a second goal for the Lady Bulldogs in the 23rd minute. Grimes stopped the ball after a Willard defender cleared it, then passed to Reese Dalton at the middle. Dalton returned the pass, and Grimes shot it into the net, making it 2-0.
“Reese passed it back, and I crossed it to the upper 90,” said Grimes. “Willard is a good team, but it was pretty much a one-sided game. We had way more opportunities than just two; we just have to figure out how to finish.”
The Lady Tigers pushed back in the second half, but the Lady Bulldogs kept them on defense. The Lady Bulldogs took three consecutive shots early in the half, all stopped by Joran Stout-Mitchell for the Lady Tigers.
Coach Tim Magee expects to learn from the Lady Tigers’ loss.
“We knew we were going to have our hands full against Carl Junction,” said Magee. “They do so many things well and stress you in different areas. I was proud of the way our girls competed, especially in the second half. Joran came up big on a few different occasions tonight. This is a game we will learn from and hopefully propel us forward even with the loss.”
The Lady Tigers finally regrouped late in the second half, showing a more organized offense. But the efforts were too late, and the Lady Bulldogs proved to be swift defensively as well.
“We rotated some people in and had to get used to the positions they were playing,” said Miller. “It seems like when we move the ball and make possession, we control tempo. When we kick it around and they get the ball, we lose momentum. We just need to figure out a way to put the ball in the net. I thought we had some opportunities that we allowed to go awry. Overall, the girls had a good effort tonight.”
Carl Junction hosts Nixa (8-4) tomorrow. Willard plays Republic (8-6) on Tuesday.
Neosho:
Kecia Houpt, 1 goal
Sydney Grimes, 1 goal
Reese Dalton, 1 assist
1 2
Willard 0 0 — 0
Carl Junction 2 0 — 2
