Girls soccer team shuts out two

The girls soccer team rebounded from their loss last week at Marist to record two shutouts. Sisters beat the Falcons 5-0 at Elmira on Monday, October 19, and two days later notched a 2-0 shutout at home over the Junction City (JC) Tigers.

Coach Nik Goertzen said, "The win over JC was absolutely huge. I'm very proud of the girls. This was the first time in five years that we've beat JC twice in the same season."

Sisters scored their first goal against the Tigers just 10 minutes into the contest. Marin Allen ran down the right side of the field and made a nice pass to the middle to Jodie Reoch at the 14-yard mark. Reoch cracked it hard and fast with a straight shot hip-high into the net at the far post. The keeper didn't even have a chance to react, and the Outlaws went up 1-0.

Sisters had 17 shots on goal in the first half with many shots very close. Unfortunately, they were not able to finish any of them. The Outlaws entered the half with a 1-0 advantage.

Goertzen said, "The game could have easily been out of hand. Needless to say, I was very animated at the half. We were playing with energy and effort but we didn't have anything to show for it except one goal. I guess I shocked the girls. I stressed the urgency of the game and it woke them up."

Sisters scored their final goal at the very end of the game to secure the 2-0 shutout. Mindy Marr had a free kick that crossed from the left to the middle. Marin Allen was able to get a body part on it and deflected it into the goal to the left of the keeper to score.

Goertzen said, "We had 15 shots on goal in the second half. Shots hit the crossbar, the sidebars and everywhere but into the goal. We even had open looks with no keeper. We just tried too hard and missed."

Sisters' defense had an outstanding performance and held the Tigers, who are the third-highest scoring team in the league, to just 12 shots on goal the entire game. Goertzen made specific mention of defensive players Peggy Barrett, Cassie Hernandez, Loryn Cummins, Mindy Marr, Amity Calvin, Zoe McAllister and Lauren Chauncey.

"The collective defensive unit played very good, and within our defensive scheme, Chauncey matched up 1-1 with their leading scorer. She (Chauncey) was our ace in the hole and was very disruptive and kept their leading scorer at bay," said Goertzen.

Goertzen added, "I really had some concerns heading into this game. We've had so many girls out with illness and injury and I didn't know what to expect. Today, the kids showed me a lot and I learned a lot about them. They did something this game that they haven't done all year. They scored a second goal in the final minutes of the game securing a win and they had the guts and mental toughness to finish the game."

Two days earlier Sisters shut out the Falcons 5-0 at Elmira.

Goertzen said, "After our (debacle) against Marist last week I wasn't sure how the girls would respond, but they accomplished the goals we set for the game. They kept Elmira from scoring and they finished the game without injury."

"The girls bounced back better than I anticipated," added Goertzen. "It was a good win and good preparation for our game with Junction City."

The wins over Junction City and Elmira pushed the Lady Outlaws to second place in league standings. Sisters is currently 7-3 in league, and according to Goertzen that's the best record at this point in the season for girls' varsity soccer since he became coach in 2007.

Seniors will be honored in the Outlaws' final league game of the season against Cottage Grove at home on Wednesday, October 28. Game time is set for 4:30 p.m.