vs. Cy Ridge Tuesday, 2/7/23

The SHS JV Soccer Team had a fun and delicious dinner of Torchy’s Tacos hosted by the Byrds and the Lamons at the Lamon’s home on Monday evening. The girls were excited to have Coach Rod join them for their team dinner. The following evening, the SHS JV Team played Cy Ridge High School at Tully. Just a few minutes into the first half, Elizabeth Byrd kicked the ball near the goal, and Cate Shofner was there to tap it in; SHS 1 - Cy Ridge 0. Then Cassidy Syamken passed to Chassity Mandley to score 2 - 0. SHS kept the ball on Cy Ridge’s end for most of the half with a lot of passes between all players. Cate Shofner sent the ball to Cassidy Syamken, then Chassity Mandley shot at the goal; the ball bounced off the Cy Ridge goalie back to Chassity, who finished the play for 3 - 0 on the board. Before the end of the first half, Cate Shofner passed the ball to Avery Rushing, who crossed to Chassity Mandley, kicking it in goal for a halftime score of 4 -0.

SHS continued to execute many passes at Cy Ridge’s end and maintain control during the second half. About 5 minutes in, Elizabeth Byrd took a corner kick reaching Cassidy Syamken, who kicked the ball in goal; SHS 5 - Cy Ridge 0. Shortly thereafter, scores by Avery Rushing and Morgan Long put 7 - 0 on the board. Piper Miller threw the ball in to Nicole Abbey, who passed to Gracie Howard, scoring 8 - 0. SHS Goalie Olivia Harbison helped the girls keep their spacing and tempo throughout the entire game, and all the SHS JV players displayed great teamwork. Stratford had a sweet group of young soccer fans cheering for them in the stands, and they gave high fives to the girls on the field after the game! Final Score SHS 8 - Cy Ridge 0.

vs. MHS Friday, 2/9/23

A week of excitement and preparation led to an intense Friday night of soccer between two rivals - the Stratford Spartans and the Memorial Mustangs. The air was crisp & cold, but the JV girls were on fire! Piper Miller, Claire Lamon, Sarah Fadhli, and Bre Blalock created a strong defense from the start. However, after a great block by our goalie Olivia Harbison, the Mustangs beat the Spartans to the ball and scored first with 24:40 on the clock: SHS 0 - MHS 1. This score did not dampen the Spartan spirit and grit; it only made them fight back stronger. Chassity Mandley trapped the ball, passed to Gracie Howard, and on to Avery Rushing with a near miss at the goal. Another pass was made by Avery Rushing to Chassity Mandley, whose shot at the goal was blocked by the MHS goalie. Our SHS defenders made lots of interceptions by stopping the opposing attack and pressuring the ball. Olivia Harbison had a nice stop, and both she and Claire Lamon did a great job of clearing the ball upfield. A beautiful corner kick by Avery Rushing was perfectly headed in by Nicole Abbey to put Stratford on the board and take us into halftime with a tie: SHS 1-MHS 1.

Both the Mustangs and the Spartans came out for the second half ready to attack. Cassidy Syamken and Elizabeth Byrd continued to take control of the ball after intercepting it from Memorial and found opportunities to move the ball forward up the field. A hand ball call on the Spartans led to a free kick by the Mustangs, which hit the post, and the score remained 1-1. Chassity Mandley gained control of the ball, passed to Avery Rushing, leading to an amazing strike on the goal, but it was caught by the MHS goalie. A foul was called on Stratford, but thankfully resulted in no score from Memorial’s free kick. Just a few mins later, a penalty was called on MHS, and Avery Rushing took the penalty kick for Stratford and scored: SHS 2 - MHS 1! Great communication between Olivia Harbison and Julia Wolf allowed them to block Memorial’s strike on our goal with only 3:43 left on the clock. SHS JV maintained control in the last minutes of the game and beat Memorial! Final Score SHS 2 - MHS 1.