With district tournament seeding firmly in place for both Glendale and Kickapoo, bragging rights were the biggest prize on the line in a clash of arch rivals on Wednesday.
Thanks to a pair of late goals by the Lady Chiefs, that prize went to homestanding Kickapoo (19-3-2) – securing a 2-0 victory over the Lady Falcons (7-11) in its penultimate match of the regular season.
“At this time of the year, you're just trying to make sure all of your kids are staying healthy,” Kickapoo head coach Phil Hodge said. “But to come away with a win against your rival, that's always a good feeling.”
PHOTOS: KICKAPOO VS. GLENDALE
In a scoreless defensive battle with 19:38 to play in regulation, Kickapoo junior Edyn King broke the tie and created the first offensive noise of the contest off a wild free-for-all following a pass into the box by midfielder Alyson Reinold.
At the 8:41 mark, Reinold followed suit with a goal of her own from 12 yards out to stretch the lead to two and provide a little extra comfort for the Lady Chiefs, but things could have been drastically different for both squads if it wasn't for a little bit of luck raining down on Kickapoo.
In the game's 59th minute, Glendale looked primed and ready to strike for the first goal of the night when freshman Emma Miller found herself with the ball seven yards out in the middle of heavy traffic and struck what she thought would be the go-ahead netter.
Unfortunately for Miller, Kickapoo goalie Ari Acuff showed why she came into the game with 12 shutouts under her belt in 2016 – knocking away the freshman's shot and watching the ball ricochet softly off the left post to keep Glendale off the board.
Two minutes later, the Lady Chiefs achieved what Glendale was unable to do in an eerily familiar fashion, with King's score coming from a similar distance and scrum as the Lady Falcons' near miss.
“[Kickapoo's] first goal was the same goal,” Glendale head coach Jeff Rogers said. “It was just a ball bouncing around. Somebody has to just kind of drop their head, go in there and hammer it, and they did that.”
King's strike ultimately proved to be the game-winner, but Reinold's goal in the 72nd minute all but put the match on ice as the talented midfielder managed to weave through defenders, set herself and breeze the ball past senior keeper Emma Brand.
“Ours didn't go and theirs did,” Rogers said after the loss. “It kind of set the tone in the game.”
Despite taking the loss, Brand put together a commendable performance defending her goal – blocking a bevy of shots and thwarting several Kickapoo attacks through 80 minutes.
Kickapoo finishes its regular season schedule on Thursday with a make-up game against Jeff City at home, while Glendale gets ready for its Class 3, District 10 semifinal matchup with West Plains on Monday in Rolla.
