One step closer

Van Horn is one step closer to a district championship.

Coach Chris Corrie said that was one of the few positives he could take from the Van Horn girls’ 1-0 victory over Kansas City East in the Class 2 District 14 Tournament.

“It was one of the ugliest games I’ve seen, but a result is a result,” Corrie said. “We get to play on Thursday, and that’s all that really counts.”

The Falcons (3-4) face top-seeded Lincoln College Prep at 5 p.m. Thursday at Van Horn for the district title. Corrie said the Falcons have a lot to work on before that game if they hope to move on in the postseason.

“Lincoln will punish us, and it will be over in the first half if we play like we did tonight,” Corrie said. “I’m happy we got the result, but we’ve got things to work on tomorrow.”

One of the big struggles the Falcons had was finishing goals. Of their 11 shots on goal, just one found its way into the net.

Van Horn sophomore Diana Cruz said she found open space in the middle of a scrum in front of East’s goal, called for the ball and had an open shot to score. She connected in the 27th minute.

Van Horn had a number of other point-blank opportunities but the shots continued to miss their mark. Corrie said nerves might have something to do with the lack of accuracy.

“The girls taste an opportunity to go to state, and I think they’re just a little bit tight in front of the net,” Corrie said. “It’s too be expected in a district semifinal, but they need to go in or else I will have a heart attack (on the sideline).”

To keep her coach an her team’s playoff hopes alive, Cruz said the Falcons simply need to do what their coach tells them.

“Working on the way we shoot,” Cruz said was the key to getting shots to go in. “Coach always tells us to keep our toe down, chest over the ball and shoot.”

Another problem Van Horn had was untimely fouls. One almost cost the Falcons their shutout.

East got a penalty kick early in the second half. The attempt flew straight at Van Horn goalkeeper Dalanie Krogman, who made the save.

While the Falcons may never look good doing it, Corrie said they have the ability to beat Lincoln Prep if they can nullify their mistakes.

“We’re an ugly team, and we have to play ugly,” Corrie said. “If any mistakes happen, we’re going to get beat on Thursday.”

Cruz said other keys to success will be intensity and ball movement, and both need to be better in the district championship.

“We need to be way more intense,” Cruz said. “We need to work on our passing and getting the ball up more quickly.”

Another good performance from the defense would help too. Corrie said his defensive backfield was a large part of why the Falcons are even getting to look toward the future.

“They’re the reason why we won,” Corrie said. “Ashley Krantz at sweeper was fantastic. She cleaned up all the messes that were back there. They played strong. They played hard.”