By Rob Potter
JEFFERSONVILLE — September 14, 2001 – For a good portion of Wednesday’s non-league girls’ soccer game between visiting S.S. Seward and Sullivan West, only half of the field seemed to be needed.
Sullivan West (2–2) held the ball in the S.S. Seward (1–3) end of the pitch for the majority of that first half, sending several shots toward the net. That offensive control led to two goals in the first forty minutes of play.
The Lady Bulldogs went on to post a 3-0 win over Seward, which historically has been a Class D soccer power.
Rebecca Steele score the first SW goal thirteen minutes into the game. Seconds before, teammate Megan Moran sent a hard shot at Seward goalie Melissa Oliphant, who partially blocked the shot.
But when the ball eluded Oliphant’s grasp, Steele was there to send it into the net from close range.
Nine minutes later, Kayla Peters scored on a penalty kick. On the referee’s whistle, Peters kicked the ball low and to Oliphant’s right. Although Oliphant went down quickly to stop the shot, the ball trickled under her arm and into the goal.
The Lady Bulldogs recorded eight shots on goal in the first half. A couple of those balls rolled just wide of the post, causing collective groans from the SW players on the bench and the home crowd. For the game, SW outshot Seward by a 14-6 margin.
Megan Moran tallied the final SW goal at the 7:43 mark of the second half. The ball flew into a crowd of players near the net on a corner kick and Moran’s high floating shot dipped under the crossbar and into the net. Teammate Christina Winski was credited with an assist on the play.
“We have been spending a great deal of time practicing good fundamental soccer awareness and movement,” SW coach Mike Mahoney said. “And today we did that fairly well.”
Mahoney also praised his defense for its play.
“The whole back four did a great job,” he said of starting defenders Jennifer Ackermann, Margaret Norden, Kayla Peters and Christina Winski. “They didn’t get beat and they played together. That is a key for good defense — to work together.”
The three Sullivan West goalies naturally contributed to those defensive efforts. Erin Bose was in the goal for the first half and made one save. Danielle Peters and Amanda Patterson split the duty in the second half, as Peters made two saves in 28 minutes of play and Patterson had one save in the game’s final 12 minutes.
Seward also utilized more than one goalie in the match. Oliphant made three saves in the first half and Kim Younghans recorded a trio of stops in the second half.
“We just came out very sluggish today,” Seward coach Chris Knittel said of his team’s performance. “I don’t know if it was the bus ride up here or what.”
Knittel added that he has a young squad that is still learning. In fact, the Seward starting lineup included three sophomores and a pair of eighth-graders.
“We’re still getting a feel for how everybody plays out there,” Knittel said of his team.
Notes: The Lady Bulldogs participated in the Pine Bush Tournament last weekend. They lost the opening-round game to the Class A hosts, 8-0, then lost the consolation game to Class B Cornwall, 3-2. Megan Moran and Margaret Norden tallied for SW in the loss.