vs. Memorial

This past Tuesday the long awaited rivalry game at Stratford was upon us. It rained all day but cleared up just in time for some soccer. The energy was electric. From the start, the Spartans showed a full-court press. Within the first two minutes, the girls created their first chance on goal. Sophomore - Sylvia Castaneda threw the ball over the head of two Mustang defenders where she found Sophomore - Kaija Sola. She flicked the ball on with her head. It landed at the feet of a defender just five yards from her own goal. Sola and Freshman - Brooklyn Baber both came crashing at her, overpowering her, and coming up with the ball. Baber took one touch and then quickly took a shot, but it went just wide. For the next ten minutes both teams traded off possession. Neither team would get a great look at the goal until Freshman - Sofia Denson deflected an attempted Mustang pass. The ball landed at the feet of Truong, who would find Freshman - Emmie Muras in the middle of the field. She turned and played a through-ball for Baber, but it was just a little hard, so the goalie came out and scooped it up. The next ten minutes continued the back-and-forth battle. At about the 10-minute mark, the Spartans got a free kick. Sophomore - Ella Bui stepped up to take this kick from about 20 yards out. A heads-up play, realizing the goalie was off her line, saw her take a rocket of a shot that sailed over the goalie's head to make it SHS 1 - MHS 0. With four minutes left in the half, the Spartans won a ball off of a Mustang free kick. Bui sent the ball out wide to Truong, who laid the ball back to Baber who one-touched the ball into the middle to Sophomore - Bella Saavedra. She took off on the dribble up the field and sent a fabulous through-ball to Truong running toward goal. Unfortunately, her feet were moving too fast and the ball just couldn't keep up with her, so it gave the defender a split second to come in and clear it out. One minute later, the Spartans put on the pressure. Sophomore - Lily Terveen stepped up and tackled a forward who was looking to attack. After she came up with the ball, she dribbled up the field and played a through-ball to Saavedra. The goalie came out to get it, but Saavedra came in hot. The pressure caused the goalie to miskick the ball, having it land at the feet of Baber. She took one touch and crushed a shot at the goal. but somehow the goalie recovered and got a hand on it to deflect it away from the goal. Despite all the parents' screaming and cheering, we just couldn't seem to put the ball in the net.

The second half was going to be another battle, but the Spartans were up to the task. The girls challenged the new goalie early and often. A couple minutes in, the Spartans got a free kick. Bui stepped up to take it again, but this time the goalie came up with the save. A couple of minutes later, the ball was bouncing around on our offensive half. Freshman - Blair Hunter came up with the ball and took it toward the goal. As the defenders crashed on her, she slipped the ball behind them looking to find Junior - Maddie Verrett running onto it, but the defenders were just one step closer and were able to clear it out. With about 20 minutes left in the half, the Mustangs looked like they would get their first real chance on goal. As the ball bounced in the middle of the field at the top of the box, they came running in looking to shoot, but Freshman - Annie Katterhenry rushed to pressure, deflecting the ball, which slowed it down as it approached Sophomore Goalie - Sophia Schulz, making her save a little less of a threat. A few minutes later, the Mustangs looked to attack again. They found themselves in a one-on-one with Schulz, but she came up with a HUGE save to keep us ahead on the scoreboard. The defense stepped up big for the next ten minutes,  denying every attempt the Mustangs would try. With about seven minutes left, the Spartans put forth a promising attack. Saavedra sent a high-floating ball into the box hoping to find Sola. The goalie came out and misjudged it, which allowed the ball to bounce over her head and bounce toward the goal. Sola took off on a sprint, but the goalie was able to turn, recover, and grab the ball before she could put it in. The final five minutes were another great display of our defensive wall. Katterhenry, Freshman - Mia Leonoras, Schulz, Terveen, and Truong worked together to ensure the game ended with a win. Victory is so sweet!! Final score: SHS 1 - MHS 0.

vs. Cy Creek

Round 2 of District started Friday night at Stratford High School vs. Cy Creek. With half of District play under their belts, the Spartans wanted to show off how much improvement they have made as a team by beating this team by more than three goals like they did the first time we played them. With girls out of town and some injuries, the lineup was somewhat different from the past few games, but the girls didn't miss a beat. Within ten minutes, the girls had their first two goals. Junior - Cate Shofner took a corner kick that Sophomore - Kaija Sola put in with a fabulous header to make it SHS 1 - CCHS 0. A few minutes later, a shot on goal was deflected, but Sophomore - Bella Saavedra was there to finish it making the score SHS 2 - CCHS 0. With 24 minutes left, Sola stepped up to take a free kick, but the shot went just wide. A few minutes later, the Cougars got a free kick of their own. Freshman Goalie - Maryn Lee was ready and waiting to make a save as the ball hit off the post and bounced out,  where Freshman - Emmie Muras cleared the ball up the field. The Spartans fired off shot after shot for the next ten minutes, but nothing seemed to find the back of the net. Finally at the 10-minute mark, Freshman - Sofia Denson won the ball in the middle of the field. She laid the ball out wide to Sophomore - Sylvia Castaneda, who dribbled 30 yards to the end line. Her cross hit off a defender and went out for a Spartan corner kick. Shofner stepped up and placed a fantastic ball into the middle of the box, where Freshman - Dalton Cashman was first to the ball, placing it past the goalie to make it SHS 3 - CCHS - 0. Five minutes later, a Cougar injury resulted in a drop ball in the middle of the field. Freshman - Brooklyn Baber stepped up to challenge the other team. She won the ball and found Freshman - Sofia Aguilar up top. She beat her player and found herself one-on-one with the goalie. Her shot was saved, but Freshman - Blair Hunter had followed up the shot, so she was able to tap in the rebound to make it SHS 4 - CCHS 0. With two minutes left in the half, Freshman - Macy Sanchez stepped in and won the ball. She played it to the feet of Denson, who sent a great through-ball to Hunter. Hunter took a great shot, but it was saved, resulting in a corner. With less than a minute to go, Shofner stepped up and took one more corner. Cashman once again was first to the ball, getting a shot off, but it was deflected, landing at the feet of Baber. She quickly took a one-touch shot that landed in the back of the net to make it SHS 5 - CCHS 0 at half.

The Spartans came out in the 2nd half playing mostly keep-away. Ten minutes in, Sola took a fantastic corner that found the head of Denson on the back post. It looked to go in, but somehow the Cy Creek goalie got a foot on it making it hit the post and bounce out. As the clock ticked down and the mercy rule could come into play, the girls got serious about scoring. At the 21-minute mark, Freshman - Elise Bernadac stepped in and won the ball. She found Shofner in the middle, who turned and took off on the dribble. She played a through-ball to Junior - Maddie Verrett, who placed the ball perfectly on the ground back post past the goalie to make it SHS 6 - CCHS 0. A couple of minutes later, Denson won the ball in the middle. She laid the ball back to Sophomore - Amrylin Duhon, who switched the field to Sanchez. She found Cashman, who turned and found Denson again. She beat her defender and then played a great ball through to Hunter, who powered her way through the defensive line, then beat the goalie to make it SHS 7 - CCHS 0. With ten minutes to go, Sanchez took a corner that went into the middle of the box. It hit off a defender and bounced out to a waiting Shofner. She took a shot, but it got hung up in the crowd of people just inside the box. Baber took control and finished the ball, putting the final goal on the scoreboard, allowing the ref to call the game because of the mercy rule. Final Score: SHS 8 - CCHS 0.

This week the JV Girls will play Tuesday at Northbrook and then Friday at home vs. Jersey Village. Both games are at 5:30 pm.