By Ted Waddell
JEFFERSONVILLE — October 1, 2004 – All kidding and puns aside, the host Sullivan West Lady Bulldogs pounded the Lady Indians of Liberty 4-0 on Monday afternoon in an Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division IV soccer match.
With 26 minutes and 10 seconds remaining in the first half, SW’s Michelle Rhodes took a pass from Kate Fanning. After splitting a couple of defenders, Rhodes kicked the ball past Liberty goalie Keely Hamlin to give the Lady Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, SW (2-2, 1-1 OCIAA) wrapped up its shutout by scoring three unanswered goals on the way to a 4-0 victory.
SW’s Heather Lander served up the ball on a corner kick. The ball then bounced the wrong way off a Lady Indian defender, who was about six yards away from the goal cage, and into the net at the 31:02 mark.
At 13:57, Lauren Ellison played the ball to Lander, who fired it home on a “one-timer” from about 10 yards out.
With about 10 minutes left in the game, Lander gained control of the ball deep on the left side. She passed it to Kristen Niemann, who tipped the ball over Hamlin’s hands at 9:01 to record the fourth and final SW goal.
Morgan Edwards guarded the cage for the Lady Bulldogs in the first 40 minutes of play, and Karry Johnston took over the goalie duties in the second half. Edwards made one save, while Johnston was credited with two saves.
Keely Hamlin had the honors of “keeping” things under control for Liberty (1-4, 0-2 OCIAA). Hamlin, a senior goalie, made 17 saves in the contest.
“We did well today,” Liberty Coach Ashlea Prouty said. “They’re looking great, but we’re just having difficulty putting the ball into the back of the net.”
In particular, she praised the performance of center mid Kim Ramos and forward Brittany Melchick.
For Prouty, she’s hoping the second time through the schedule is the charm.
“We can’t wait to face everybody again, because we think we’ll get them the second time around,” she said.
What is Liberty Assistant Coach Carpio Ramos’ take on the season?
“I’m proud of them,” he said of the Lady Indians. “They’re working hard.”
SW Coach Mike Mahoney has spent several seasons on the local soccer fields.
“I knew the Liberty girls were going to come in as a completely different team,” he said. “They have some really good coaching.”
Mahoney said that in order to keep on winning, his players have to learn the fine art of “playing some second six balls,” in which a player feeds the ball back towards the area in the goal box where penalty shots are taken. The area is a space comprising the second six yards – in other words, 12 yards – away from the goalkeeper.
He said two of the Lady Bulldogs’ three second half goals were second six balls.
“That’s something we’ve spent a lot of time working on.
“Defensively, they kept pressing even into the final minutes of the match, [but] we were able to keep our spacing and get into positions where we could finish,” Mahoney added.