JV Women’s Soccer vs. Memorial

The Spartans shook off winter as they took their place on the Mustang’s field and lit the night up with premium gas in their tanks.  And like their namesake, they excelled in teamwork, coordination, and whipped up determination for this fast-paced nail biting “get off your keister” game.

Memorial made the first goal with the Spartans quickly tying it up in the first half with a spectacular passing sequence of 8 resulting in a goal from the foot of Rachel Ashby with assist by Cassidy Smayken. Unfortunately, Memorial pulled out the win in the last 57 seconds of the game when a deflected ball ricocheted off a defender into Stratford’s’ goal. 

The scoreboard gave us a loss but Spartans looked like the more cohesive team Tuesday with more attempts at the goal and more time with the ball. There were many wave your flag moments with great stops by goalie Erica Eastman.  Midfielder Smayken was like “knight in shining armor '', giving it all to catch the ball and creating plays for her team. With trust as her glue, Blaylock’s generosity with her passes were consistently completed with stereoscopic vision.

It’s easy to get swept up in Hannah Haygood’s relationship with the ball she can lure her defender in and back kick it to the right flank or send the ball through her defenders’ feet to pick it back up on the other side.

Elizabeth Byrd, Rachel Ashby, Gracie Howard and Megan Hallmark showed us the beautiful intricacies of soccer with their ability to pass short and long, ground balls and air balls using the full width of the striking zone with strong attempts at the 452 square feet of net

Kate Michaels, and Leyla Walker were the touchstones throughout the game with their long-range balls, they consistently shut down the Mustangs opportunities and put the ball back in play in their zone.

Overall, JV Spartans makes us feel pride and forces us to find our own flag to wave.

We will keep them proudly waving into the spring.  Forever Spartans!