Girls soccer team wins two

The girls soccer team notched a 7-0 shutout at Creswell on Tuesday, September 18 and three days later earned a 4-1 victory at home over Junction City.

Marin Allen got the Outlaws started at the 10-minute mark of Tuesday's game with an unassisted goal from just inside the 18-yard box.

Ten minutes later McKenzie Williams scored and Karah Herr recorded the assist. Herr took a shot from the 18-yard mark which was deflected off the goalie, and Williams got the rebound and punched it into the back of the net for the goal.

Allen scored her second goal of the night at the 32-minute mark with a nice feed from Kelly Cole.

"The ball brushed off Marin's body and went underneath the keeper and into the goal," said Coach Nik Goertzen. "It was really a fluke goal."

Two minutes later Williams scored an unassisted goal, and the Outlaws headed into the half with a 4-0 lead.

At the half Goertzen made some very nontraditional adjustments. Goertzen moved his entire defense up to play offense, and the offense moved back to take over the defensive positions.

"We were starting to lose our focus, and I wanted to keep us sharp and challenge the girls," said Goertzen. "So, I really mixed it up and made the girls play entirely new positions."

Goertzen's strategy worked. The Outlaws worked together, and three players recorded their first career goal.

In the 44th minute Nicole Veloso scored her first career goal with a shot from just inside the 10-yard box. Thirteen minutes later Lily Hicks scored her first career goal from the 18-yard mark, thanks to a nice cross from Veloso. To top it off, Tori Carlson (normally the keeper) also scored her first career goal off a cross from Hicks. The Outlaws walked away with a 7-0 victory.

"It was a total team effort," said Goertzen. "I'm happy with their effort, especially with the challenge of playing positions they don't normally play."

The game on Friday against Junction City was an intense, hard-fought victory for the Lady Outlaws. The first half proved to be very tough with the ball going back and forth evenly between the two teams.

In the 21st minute Sisters managed to get one of their shots into the goal. Taylor Pelham made a cross at the middle of the field from the right side to Williams who was just outside the 18-yard box. Williams took the ball around her defender and struck the ball to the right side of the keeper.

"It was a beautiful shot and gave us some life," said Goertzen.

The Outlaws went into the half with a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers scored in the 48th minute on a free kick to tie the game 1-1.

Five minutes later Hattie Tehan kicked a corner kick. The ball defected off the goalie and Katie Taylor punched the ball through on the ground for her first goal of the season to push the Outlaws to a 2-1 advantage.

"We were a little deflated after the goal JC got by us," said Goertzen. "This goal by Taylor ignited us again and gave us new life."

In the 65th minute Taylor scored her second goal on a cross from Kelly Cole. The solid blast into the net gave Sisters a 3-1 lead.

Goertzen told The Nugget that he was so in awe of Taylor's goal that he gave her a bow from the sidelines.

Goertzen said: "I was thinking to myself that it was about time. I'd been waiting for my senior (Katie Taylor) forward to score all season; hence, the well deserved bow from the sidelines. At that point the girls were all playing great soccer. Their passes were sharp. Our communication was direct. Our tackling was good, and we were playing with a purpose."

With eight minutes to go in the game, Allen capped Sisters' scoring, thanks to a fine cross from Taylor.

"Marin (Allen) ran an overlap on the pass from Taylor and scored on a chip shot that went over the keeper's head," said Goertzen.

"It was a great team effort," said Goertzen. "And it was nice having Mindy (Marr) back after being out for 17 days with a head injury. Her contributions were huge, and she was very instrumental in the middle of the field."

The Outlaws will play at Cottage Grove on Thursday, September 27.