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Blue Springs, MO —
A defensive-heavy alignment allowed the Blue Springs girls to stay within striking distance for a while Thursday against powerful Lee’s Summit North.
But even without a top-shelf performance, the visiting Broncos still proved too much for the Wildcats in recording a 2-0 Suburban Big Six victory at Peve Stadium.
Oklahoma State-bound Allie Stephenson got North (17-3, 8-1 Big Six) on the board at the 20:28 mark, and McKenzie Kellogg added the clincher at 68:49 for the Broncos, who are fifth in the latest Class 3 state rankings.
“We tried to stay in it as long as possible,” said Blue Springs coach Doug McLagan, whose team fell to 4-9-1 overall and 2-6 in conference play.
McLagan employed just one player forward much of the game and tried to shadow Stephenson with senior midfielder Bailey Hensley, while the Broncos seemed content with a deliberate possession offense, occasionally prodding deep.
When the Wildcats tried an attack midway through the first half, North promptly countered and left-winger Hannah Bomar got a lead pass to Stephenson in traffic. Stephenson cut 90 degrees between two defenders, dribbled to the middle and tucked a shot off the left post.
McLagan blamed himself for taking a chance which got turned against his team.
“We left (Stephenson) once, and she beat about six girls,” he said. “It might’ve been a give-and-go, but she basically carried it about 60 yards. What can you do?
“They’re deadly when they get that transition. We didn’t allow them to get that very often, and that’s why we stayed in the game.”
What Blue Springs couldn’t do was generate much offense. The Broncos outshot the Wildcats 18-3 (nine of 18 on goal) and had the game’s only three corner kicks.
One of the corner kicks by Jade Gifford became the second goal, as Kellogg neatly one-timed Gifford’s low skidder through a couple defenders.
North coach Tim Richardson bore a pleased-but-certainly-not-satisfied look after his team’s victory.
“We figured they would be putting a lot of defenders behind the ball,” Richardson of the Wildcats. “I was thinking we could go a little forward and show more interest in attacking the goal. That’s what we talked about at halftime, and I didn’t see much change in the second half.
“We did a pretty decent job of keeping the ball and keeping them away from it.”
North beat Blue Springs 3-2 in the teams’ first meeting, so Richardson said there was some relief in getting the initial goal, rather than the Wildcats getting an early boost of confidence.
“Doug does a great job,” said Richardson, whose team clinched a share of the Suburban Big Six Conference title. “He had a good tactical scheme, and if he gets a bounce here or there, the game might’ve been different.”
Alyssa Scholl made seven saves in goal for Blue Springs, including two point-blank stops on Bomar after Stephenson’s crossing pass in the 15th minute. Maddie Dobyns made three saves for the Broncos.
A defensive-heavy alignment allowed the Blue Springs girls to stay within striking distance for a while Thursday against powerful Lee’s Summit North.
But even without a top-shelf performance, the visiting Broncos still proved too much for the Wildcats in recording a 2-0 Suburban Big Six victory at Peve Stadium.
Oklahoma State-bound Allie Stephenson got North (17-3, 8-1 Big Six) on the board at the 20:28 mark, and McKenzie Kellogg added the clincher at 68:49 for the Broncos, who are fifth in the latest Class 3 state rankings.
“We tried to stay in it as long as possible,” said Blue Springs coach Doug McLagan, whose team fell to 4-9-1 overall and 2-6 in conference play.
McLagan employed just one player forward much of the game and tried to shadow Stephenson with senior midfielder Bailey Hensley, while the Broncos seemed content with a deliberate possession offense, occasionally prodding deep.
When the Wildcats tried an attack midway through the first half, North promptly countered and left-winger Hannah Bomar got a lead pass to Stephenson in traffic. Stephenson cut 90 degrees between two defenders, dribbled to the middle and tucked a shot off the left post.
McLagan blamed himself for taking a chance which got turned against his team.
“We left (Stephenson) once, and she beat about six girls,” he said. “It might’ve been a give-and-go, but she basically carried it about 60 yards. What can you do?
“They’re deadly when they get that transition. We didn’t allow them to get that very often, and that’s why we stayed in the game.”
What Blue Springs couldn’t do was generate much offense. The Broncos outshot the Wildcats 18-3 (nine of 18 on goal) and had the game’s only three corner kicks.
One of the corner kicks by Jade Gifford became the second goal, as Kellogg neatly one-timed Gifford’s low skidder through a couple defenders.
North coach Tim Richardson bore a pleased-but-certainly-not-satisfied look after his team’s victory.
“We figured they would be putting a lot of defenders behind the ball,” Richardson of the Wildcats. “I was thinking we could go a little forward and show more interest in attacking the goal. That’s what we talked about at halftime, and I didn’t see much change in the second half.
“We did a pretty decent job of keeping the ball and keeping them away from it.”
North beat Blue Springs 3-2 in the teams’ first meeting, so Richardson said there was some relief in getting the initial goal, rather than the Wildcats getting an early boost of confidence.
“Doug does a great job,” said Richardson, whose team clinched a share of the Suburban Big Six Conference title. “He had a good tactical scheme, and if he gets a bounce here or there, the game might’ve been different.”
Alyssa Scholl made seven saves in goal for Blue Springs, including two point-blank stops on Bomar after Stephenson’s crossing pass in the 15th minute. Maddie Dobyns made three saves for the Broncos.
