Undefeated season continues, shutout streak ends at 6 Story and photos by Tara Hefferan As neighbors, Newaygo and Grant have a long-standing rivalry. That competitiveness spilled onto the soccer pitch Monday night, when the Lions traveled to Tigers territory, hunting for their next win. While the Lions did emerge victorious, securing a 7-1 win, the game did not unfold entirely as expected. Rather than rounding out the mercy win in the first half, as the 7-0 lead suggested they would, the Lions found themselves engaged for the full 80 minutes and held scoreless in the second half. The Lions first three goals came in rapid succession, shortly after the opening whistle. Less than a minute into the match, Connelly Hefferan Nordlund found McCaiden Rienstra breaking toward goal. Rienstra brought the ball up field, and when mayhem ensued in front of the net, she slipped the pass to Grace Painter to put away. Two minutes later, Lynnea Briones sent the ball to Hefferan Nordlund, who played a through ball to Painter, who slammed it into the back of the net. The next goal came eight minutes in, after Hefferan Nordlund sent a through ball to Rienstra to slot away. The Lions were in the lead 3-0, less than 10 minutes into the match. While Newaygo continued to dominate possession, using their precision passing to control the pace of the game, their next goal did not come until almost the 20th minute. Hefferan Nordlund sent a ball through to Rienstra, who fired off a shot. The Grant keeper got a hand on it, but the ball spun back into play. Painter was where she needed to be, immediately pouncing to put it into the back of the net. With 15 minutes left in the first half, Painter took the corner kick from the right side of the field. Painter curled the ball toward goal. The Grant keeper again was able to get her hand on it, but the ball found its way past her and into the left corner. Two minutes later, Briones sent a ball to Hefferan Nordlund, who fired it in from the 18-yard line for a goal. Then, just three minutes later, Painter sent a pass to Luella Hilden, who slipped it to Briones to put away. This was Hilden’s first career assist. At the half, Newaygo was ahead 7-0. The first half saw Newaygo dominate, as the Lions took 21 shots total, with 13 on goal. While the Lions defense of Sofia Briggs, Natalie Richardson, Maddie Couch, and Rachel Larsen faced some pressure, they effectively contained the Tigers attack. The Tigers had just 2 shots total, and only 1 on goal. Returning from halftime, the Lions struggled with both line-up changes and a reenergized Tigers attack. While the Tigers had just 4 shots total, compared to the Lions 11 shots, they secured an important goal with just five minutes of play remaining. With a flurry of activity in the left corner of the field, Grant’s Lola Cronk sent in a high-flying curling ball that sailed over Lions Keeper Barbara Toth into the upper right corner of the net. The Tigers scored against the Lions, the first time that has happened since April 21. In the second half, the Lions sent in 11 shots, 3 of which were on goal. The Tigers fired in 4 shots, 1 of which found its way into the back of the net. Coach Matt Painter said, ““The Grant game is always a bit of a rivalry, so we knew we needed come out sharp and ready to play. Our girls did just that in the first half. Our passing was accurate, and our shots found their mark. In the second half it seemed that we lost some focus. We continued to put several shots on goal, but our accuracy was off, and we struggled to string together passes. I certainly credit Grant’s 2nd half energy for some of our struggles! On the positive side for us, our entire roster was able to see good minutes on the field tonight, and we did enough to get the win. We will get some of the girls healed and healthy over the next couple days, so we are ready for Kent City!”
On Wednesday, May 10 the Lions hit the road to face Kent City. The Lions stand at 11-0-1 overall, and 5-0-0 in conference play. They are currently tied for first place in the CSAA conference.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Categories |