Sometimes, the softball instincts will kick in for Ellie Shevey.
When she makes a big save, she’ll remind herself that it’s okay to wait.
“Slow it down,” Shevey said of the biggest adjustment between softball and soccer. “It’s not a race. I don’t have to get the ball out quickly. Make the save first, then figure it out and know my teammates have my back.”
Shevey, an all-conference catcher for Kickapoo’s softball team in the fall, is thriving this spring in a different role: starting varsity goalkeeper.
She had a noteworthy performance in Kickapoo’s 4-1 win over Glendale on Thursday night in the annual Southside Showdown.
Shevey collected a handful of impressive saves, highlighted by a penalty-kick stop late in the first half that preserved Kickapoo’s two-goal lead.
“I was a little scared at first because I had never played soccer before until last year, but the transition has gone really well,” said Shevey, a sophomore. “It’s been awesome to do this.”
Kickapoo coach Phil Hodge isn’t surprised by Shevey’s quick success on the pitch.
“The kid is an athlete and a competitor,” Hodge said. “She gets after it in the weight room. Has she grown tremendously from her freshman year to sophomore year? No doubt. A lot of that is because of the work she puts in.”
It was an Elli(e)-themed night for the Lady Chiefs.
Junior forward Elli Davison added to her team-high total with a pair of goals (30’ and 33’) late in the first half.
On both goals, Kickapoo slipped a pass through the middle of Glendale’s defense and Davison used her superb speed to win the footrace and beat the Glendale keeper on a 1-v-1.
Seniors Baylea Davis and Sophie Young had the assists.
“They were both great (plays). My teammates had a great pass to the middle and I was able to run on to it and find a goal,” Davison said.
Davison now has 23 goals (unofficially) on the season. She’s quickly ascending Kickapoo’s career goals list, with a season-and-a-half to go.
“Credit to her, in that moment with the keeper coming out, it’d be easy to not finish her chances,” Hodge said. “She always stays composed.”
Junior forward Charlie Wistrom accounted for Glendale’s lone goal (31’). Wistrom found space down the left side and fired a shot past three Kickapoo defenders and an outstretched Shevey.
Wistrom nearly scored again late in the match, but Shevey came out to make the save on a 1-v-1 opportunity.
Freshman Brooklynn Duree added a second-half insurance goal (67’) for Kickapoo as the Lady Chiefs improved to 12-6 overall.
Kickapoo seized control early as Davis scored on a penalty kick in the 8th minute.
The Lady Chiefs are coming off a final four season. Next month, Kickapoo will be on the hunt for its seventh straight district title.
“We lost a lot of great seniors from last year’s team, but we’ve done a good job piecing together a new lineup and still winning,” Davison said. “Our team’s pretty young, but everyone plays together really well.”
The outcome continues Kickapoo’s recent dominance in the girls’ edition of the Southside Showdown. The Lady Chiefs have now won seven of the last eight matchups against Glendale dating back to the 2016 season.
“Credit to our kids: We’ve had a heck of a run the last several years,” Hodge said. “We just want to keep that going.”
Kickapoo has a quick turnaround with a home match against Pembroke Hill on Friday.
Glendale (8-5 overall) will host Pembroke Hill on Saturday afternoon, followed by three conference games next week. The Lady Falcons are at West Plains on Monday, Bolivar on Tuesday and host Rolla next Friday.
