Girls soccer holds No. 1 league spot

The girls soccer team defeated two more league foes last week to push to No. 1 in league. Sisters defeated Junction City (JC) 4-2 at home on Tuesday, October 16, and two days later defeated the Lions at Cottage Grove (CG) 2-1.

Sisters lost to JC earlier in the season and came back to defeat them this week. The Outlaws defeated the Tigers by a wider margin to gain No. 1 recognition. If both teams win the remainder of their games there will be a playoff game.

Emily Corrigan scored Sisters' first goal of the contest at the 14-minute mark. Haley Carlson sent a ball through the Tigers' defense and Emily ran right onto it and managed to slide the ball past the keeper for the goal.

JC countered with a goal after a Sisters corner kick three minutes later to tie it up at 1-1. The Tigers scored again with two minutes left in the first half and took a 2-1 lead.

Natalie Ambrose sent a perfect shot to the corner of the net 40 seconds later to even the score at 2-2. Kristen Saunders was there for the assist.

Sisters entered the half with a 2-2 tie.

Coach Audrey Tehan stated, "We came off the field with high spirits and just wanted to come back in the second half and keep up our intensity of play. We'd been getting opportunities on goal and just needed to keep pushing forward while playing smart defense."

At the 69-minute mark Anna Ortega sent a beautiful ball over the top of the JC defense. Nord came out well beyond the 18-yard box to clear the ball, but pressure from Corrigan caused Nord to fumble the ball. Emily corralled the ball and with three JC defenders on her back was able to pass the ball into the open net for the goal and push Sisters to a 3-2 lead.

The Outlaws limited JC to just three shots on goal in the first 30 minutes of the second half. At the 75-minute mark Taylor Schneider made an incredible save when Liz Stewart and a JC player were both going for the ball near the 18-yard box. Schneider sprinted out and grabbled the ball between the two dueling players just as JC was about to take a shot on goal.

JC was called for a hand ball one minute later. Stewart had a perfect PK and drove the ball into the lower left-hand corner of the net and Sisters went up 4-2. The score held until the final whistle blew.

"It was a great win," said Tehan. "It was very exciting and all the girls were digging deep in the second half to attack and get back on defense."

Tehan stated that Corrigan has become a major threat against any opponent the Outlaws face.

"Whenever Emily has a shot she rarely misses the net," said Tehan. "She plays smart, has great composure and under a lot of pressure she is able to settle the ball and make the correct movements to get the ball in the net."

Tehan told The Nugget that Claire Henson and Anna Ortega both stepped up their level of play.

"Claire did a spectacular job at outside defense," said Tehan. "She never makes a mistake and has great composure on the ball and is extremely game smart. She had an intense focus the entire 80 minutes and played with a tenacity I had yet to see since she returned from her injury earlier this season.

"Anna has stepped in as a freshman to play at center midfield for Molly Boyle," added Tehan. "Anna was tenacious today and never feared going in for a hard tackle. At one point Anna had to come out of the game because she got smashed between two JC players."

Tehan was impressed with Michaela Miller, who once again shut down University of Oregon recruit Shaylee Miner.

"Michaela is proving she is one of our strongest defenders," said Tehan. "The entire game she was one-on-one with Shaylee, controlling her speed and ability to take good shots."

On Thursday, Sisters defeated the Lions 2-1 in a tight match-up at Cottage Grove.

Ambrose got the Outlaws on the scoreboard at the 30-minute mark with an unassisted goal. Natalie dribbled the ball through two CG defenders right down the middle of the field and sent a powerful shot into the upper right-hand corner from 18 yards out.

With three minutes left in the first half, two CG players smashed into Ambrose approximately 25 yards outside the goal. Natalie had to sit on the sidelines the remainder of the game due to the injury she sustained from the collision.

A free kick was issued due to Ambrose's injury and Stewart took the kick. Liz drove the shot into the upper left corner and at the half the Outlaws held a 2-0 lead.

The Outlaws were able to hold off the Lions in the second half until late in the game. With eight minutes left on the clock CG scored on a free kick.

Sisters held off the Lions in the final minutes and recorded the victory.

Many players were moved and shuffled to different positions due to injuries. Anna Ortega was unable to play due to an injury in the JC game, and Molly Boyle recently found out she will be out for the remainder of the season due to a fracture in her left leg. Tehan was extremely pleased with her team's ability to switch it up and still maintain a high level of play.

Tehan made special note of Kristin Saunders.

"Kristen has been doing a tremendous job feeding balls to our lead scorers, Natalie Ambrose and Emily Corrigan," stated Tehan. "She is smart and puts herself in prime assisting positions to draw defenders away and she plays great defense up front."

Tehan couldn't be more proud of her team.

"These past two games show that these girls are so strong," said Tehan. "Our team is not just relying on the talent of a few girls to carry us through. Everyone has stepped up their level of play when they had to help out the team."

The Outlaws will face Sweet Home in their last league game of the season at home in Sisters on Wednesday, October 24.