By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Springfield, Mo. — Springfield Catholic’s senior-night celebration was short-lived.
Less than a minute after the Lady Irish jumped out to a 1-0 lead, Nixa stormed back with the equalizer. The Lady Eagles then netted three additional goals in the second half for a 4-1 victory Monday afternoon.
Senior Brinn Cooper put the Lady Irish on the board midway through the first half on an assist from classmate Emma Lucas.
Nixa wasted little time answering the early deficit, as junior Madisyn Pritchett found the net 50 seconds later on a feed from fellow junior Erica Hartley.
“We all really wanted to beat [Catholic] because they beat us last year,” Pritchett said. “Erica Hartley played a really good ball to me. It was perfect, and I had to finish it. It was just too good not to.”
Nixa head coach Evan Palmer praised his team for quickly refocusing and capitalizing on an early opportunity.
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“You talk to soccer people; when are most goals scored? After another goal,” Palmer said. “It was good for our girls just to refocus. They got the ball down there and found a way to score. It was great to get right back into the game. That was big for us.”
The score remained tied 1-1 at the break, with both teams struggling to maintain possessions.
“At the break, we went to a different formation, and it really wasn’t working,” Palmer said. “We went back to more attacking and were able to keep the pressure on. Finally, we were able to find those holes in the defense.”
Midway through the second half, Nixa’s pressure started to pay off.
Catholic dodged a bullet when a deflection off junior defender Kaitlin Knetzke hit the post and, fortunately, bounced back to senior goalkeeper Ellie Palmer.
While the Lady Irish were able to breathe a sigh of relief, the near-miss triggered a rapid four-minute sequence for Nixa.
Junior Erin Crawford, Pritchett and senior Chloe Cash each scored goals to give the Lady Eagles a commanding, 4-1 lead.
Pritchett said the near miss provided a momentum boost for her team.
“I think when that happened, it clicked to us that ‘We can do this,’” Pritchett said. “Get it up there and score some goals. I just motivated us to get some in the back of the net.”
Less than a minute after Pritchett’s brace, Cash won a breakaway showdown with Palmer in front of the net.
“We just finally found the seams and finally got through,” Palmer said. “Chloe has really been working hard on her 1v1s with the keeper. She missed a few earlier in the season, but now she’s really starting to figure out what to do in each situation.”
While Catholic attempted to rally, the effects of a long weekend series of games took its toll on the team.
Lady Irish head coach Ben Timson lamented the three quick goals surrendered in the second half.
“We had a problem with that this weekend, too, over in Cape Girardeau,” Timson said. “Twice, we gave up two goals to Notre Dame in a very short timespan, so we’re going to need to clean that up moving forward. If you give up a goal, you’ve got to come back fighting and not give up another one right away. Coming back against a team like [Nixa] … if you go two goals down, that’s a mountain to climb.”
The Lady Irish also played shorthanded due to illness and were without the services of junior playmaker Kaleia Huttenlocher and junior defender Olivia Wilson.
“Any time you’re missing someone of Kaleia’s caliber, that’s a big impact,” Timson said. “We also were missing Olivia Wilson, who is one of our starting center backs, but that’s when other girls have a chance to step up.”
Making adjustments to both lineup and strategy, Timson praised senior Thania Munoz for her performance.
“I thought Thania Munoz played a very good game out there tonight,” Timson said. “We switched up a little bit and went to a 4-5-1 with Thania up there by herself. I thought we held our own, and to get that first goal was something. [Nixa] just had too much for us tonight.”
After a quick turnaround, Nixa (9-5-1) travels to Webb City Tuesday, May 1, while Catholic (15-5-1) visits Ozark Thursday, May 3.
Varsity Final: Nixa – 4, Catholic – 1
First half scoring
26:54 Catholic goal – Brinn Cooper (Emma Lucas assist)
26:04 Nixa goal – Madisyn Pritchett (Erica Hartley assist)
Second half scoring
22:03 Nixa goal – Erin Crawford
18:46 Nixa goal – Madisyn Pritchett (Erica Hartley assist)
18:02 Nixa goal – Chloe Cash (Hannah Lannutti assist)
