Girls soccer squad grabs two more wins

The girls soccer team topped Sutherlin 5-2 at home on Wednesday, October 7, in a make-up game for one canceled the previous week. A day later the Outlaws earned a 3-1 road-win against the Sweet Home Huskies.

Michaela Miller opened the scoring against the Sutherlin Bulldogs with a goal at the 12-minute mark. Miller received a through-ball from Nika Chick, and knocked the ball into the right corner of the net from 12 yards out. Eight minutes later, Miller returned the favor, and assisted Chick for a goal. Nika took a shot from outside the 18, and booted the ball into the upper left corner to put the Outlaws on top 2-1.

The Bulldogs scored a goal in the 25th minute, but the Outlaws responded four minutes later with another goal to push to a 3-1 advantage. Miller placed a sweet shot into the upper right corner from 18 yards out, on an assist from Olivia Stewart.

In the 39th minute, Stewart followed up a shot by Chick. The Outlaws held onto their 4-1 lead until the whistle blew to end the half.

Sutherlin scored 10 minutes into the second half to close the gap to 4-2. Twenty minutes later, Taylor Schneider turned an Olivia Watts pass into a goal. Taylor was at the arc at the top of the box, kicked the ball with the inside of her foot, and curved it into the top left corner.

Coach Thomas Draxler was impressed with Schneider's performance.

"Taylor had exceptional trapping ability this game," said Draxler. "She was very intelligent in the way she played."

Hannah Tenneson (right-side defense) commented on the Outlaws' defensive play.

"We played well as a unit and were able to shut Sutherlin down," she said.

The win marked Sisters fourth league win of the season, and Tessa O'Hern shared with The Nugget her thoughts on the Outlaws' success:

"Our team is pretty fast and we're pretty good at connecting passes and making crosses," said O'Hern. "We also do pretty well on following through on our shots. Those are the key things that led to our wins."

On Thursday, the Outlaws logged a 3-1 win on the road. Sisters played in a 7 p.m. game under the lights on Sweet Home's new field. The Huskies proved to be a much-improved and more aggressive squad than the Outlaws encountered last season.

Sisters scored two goals in the first half. Marissa Young had a great corner kick that went straight to the middle of the goal-keeper, and through her hands. Chick was right there and tapped the ball in for the score in the 30th minute of play.

Two minutes later, Chick got a fast break, and passed the ball over to Miller, who knocked in a shot to the top corner from 18 yards out.

Draxler said, "Wow! It was a great shot. Michaela had the whole goal to score in, and she put it in the tiniest spot in the upper corner."

At the half, the Outlaws held a 2-0 lead.

The Huskies got on the scoreboard midway through the second half. Three minutes later, the Outlaws responded with another goal and held onto the 3-1 lead until the buzzer sounded to end the game.

Chick logged the final goal thanks to a Tate Ricker assist. Several players were fighting for the ball at the top of the 18, and the ball fell out to Ricker. Tate passed the ball over to Nika, and after a couple of touches, Chick powered the ball past the keeper.

Draxler was pleased with his team's performance and made special note of Hannah Ceciliani.

"Hannah usually plays goalie, but because of her great skills on the field she played at center-mid," said Draxler. "She read the field very well, cleared the ball to the offensive half, and was very lethal on free-kicks."

The Outlaws are currently 5-1 in league and are 5-4 overall. The Outlaws were to play at home against Elmira on Tuesday, October 13. Sisters will travel to Junction City on Thursday, October 15, for a game against the Tigers.