By Rob Potter
GRAHAMSVILLE — September 13, 2005 – A goal in the final six minutes of the second half gave the Roscoe Lady Blue Devils a 2-1 victory on Friday in a non-league soccer match versus the host Tri-Valley Lady Bears.
At the 34:32 mark, Roscoe’s Kendra Harris gained control of the ball about 15 feet away from the T-V goal cage. She then kicked the ball high and into the far corner of the net, past the outstretched arms of Lady Bear goalie Kaylie Ackerley.
Taylor DeVantier assisted on the goal.
Over the remaining five-plus minutes, the Lady Blue Devils played solid defense to post their first victory of the 2005 season. Roscoe, which lost is season-opening match to Section IV’s Margaretville, is now 1-1.
T-V (1-2) tied the match at 1-1 midway through the second half. Junior defender Kayla Scannell kicked the ball high into the air and across the field. Senior midfielder/striker Maria Jeltsch, who was near the top of the goal box, then kicked the ball high and into the back of the net.
The Lady Bears attempted to knot the score earlier in the second half. In the first three minutes of the half, T-V had three quality shots at the Roscoe net. The best chance to score was when junior midfielder Brittany Poley sent a high shot towards the goal cage. However, the ball hit the crossbar and bounced away. On the other two shots, Lady Blue Devil goalie Kasse Brock calmly made the saves.
Roscoe took a 1-0 lead 24:56 into the first half when Harris kicked the ball into the open corner of the net from close range. Kourtni Guzzo assisted on the tally.
“We only had 11 girls today,” said Roscoe Coach Kevin Sanford, noting the team’s lack of substitutes. “They were starting to get tired at the end of the first half. But they kept playing hard and played tough defense.”
Sanford noted that T-V had nine corner kicks in the match, while his team only had two.
“We played very good defense,” he said. “When you the other team has nine corner kicks and you only give up one goal, that’s a great job. We got some lucky bounces, but we also played great defense.”
The Lady Bears also enjoyed an advantage in shots, sending 24 at the Roscoe net compared to the Lady Blue Devils’ 11 shots.
Brock finished the match with 16 saves, while Ackerley recorded eight saves.
“In the first half, we had some good chances to score, but we couldn’t capitalize on those opportunities,” T-V Coach Mary Feusner said. “We also had some opportunities in the second half.”
Feusner was happy with the way the Lady Bears’ lone goal was recorded.
“That was nice the way Kayla served the ball over to Maria Jeltsch,” the veteran coach said. “It was a great job by both players.”
Feusner noted that with a few Lady Bears on the roster who have not played on the varsity level before, her team made some defensive miscues during the match.
But she remains optimistic.
“They will keep getting better as they gain more experience,” Feusner commented. “As the season moves along, the whole team will get better.”