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Independence, MO —
Some sideline advice served Becky Colon well during the second half of the Truman girls soccer team’s 1-0 victory over William Chrisman on Tuesday.
Late in the first half of meeting between the crosstown rivals at Truman High School, the Patriot coaches told the small, speedy senior forward she needed to release the ball sooner and come at an angle when taking shots, head coach Jared Byrne said. In the 67th minute, she turned that advice into the game-winning goal.
Dribbling deep into Chrisman’s 18-yard box, Colon saw Bears keeper Jordyn Atagi coming out of the net to cut off Colon’s shooting angle at the near post. Colon responded by shooting to the far post. The ball skimmed off the post into the net, giving the Patriots the goal they needed to win their fourth straight game and improve to 12-7. Chrisman dropped to 6-10.
“It was a hard angle to shoot it on,” Colon said. “The goalie was very aggressive and came out, so I was glad I got it in.”
That wasn’t the only time Atagi played aggressively against Colon. In the 40th minute, Colon was in position to give Truman the lead on a breakaway opportunity. Charging out of the goal mouth, Atagi smothered the ball to help keep it scoreless at halftime.
“I was planning on going to an angle and just getting it off,” Colon said. “But she did well.”
Atagi acknowledged that Colon posed a challenge for her during the breakaway.
“(Colon) is very fast, and it was hard to meet her speed,” Atagi said.
The key to countering Colon’s speed was to go out aggressive and confident, Atagi said. Aggressiveness is something Atagi has honed throughout the season, according to Bears coach John Straub. That work showed Tuesday, in what Straub called “one of Jordyn’s best games of the season.”
“She had an amazing game,” he said.
Atagi was pleased with her performance, too.
“I went for everything,” said Atagi, who made nine saves.
Atagi credited her performance to practicing alone Sunday out in the rain. As the rain poured, she imagined the various scoring scenarios she might face and rehearsed her defenses against them.
“When you get out to the game, you have to think of it that way,” she said. “You just have to think that there’s nobody else around. You have to tune the other players out and (think) that you’re the only one out there and you’re going to get to every ball.”
Byrne attributed Colon’s ability to adjust to Atagi’s aggressiveness to Colon’s attitude. Colon “always listens” to her coaches and regularly comes off the field asking what she needs to do when she shoots, Byrne said.
“That’s what happened (tonight),” he said. “She came off saying, ‘What do I need to do?’ You always like to hear that as a coach.”
Some sideline advice served Becky Colon well during the second half of the Truman girls soccer team’s 1-0 victory over William Chrisman on Tuesday.
Late in the first half of meeting between the crosstown rivals at Truman High School, the Patriot coaches told the small, speedy senior forward she needed to release the ball sooner and come at an angle when taking shots, head coach Jared Byrne said. In the 67th minute, she turned that advice into the game-winning goal.
Dribbling deep into Chrisman’s 18-yard box, Colon saw Bears keeper Jordyn Atagi coming out of the net to cut off Colon’s shooting angle at the near post. Colon responded by shooting to the far post. The ball skimmed off the post into the net, giving the Patriots the goal they needed to win their fourth straight game and improve to 12-7. Chrisman dropped to 6-10.
“It was a hard angle to shoot it on,” Colon said. “The goalie was very aggressive and came out, so I was glad I got it in.”
That wasn’t the only time Atagi played aggressively against Colon. In the 40th minute, Colon was in position to give Truman the lead on a breakaway opportunity. Charging out of the goal mouth, Atagi smothered the ball to help keep it scoreless at halftime.
“I was planning on going to an angle and just getting it off,” Colon said. “But she did well.”
Atagi acknowledged that Colon posed a challenge for her during the breakaway.
“(Colon) is very fast, and it was hard to meet her speed,” Atagi said.
The key to countering Colon’s speed was to go out aggressive and confident, Atagi said. Aggressiveness is something Atagi has honed throughout the season, according to Bears coach John Straub. That work showed Tuesday, in what Straub called “one of Jordyn’s best games of the season.”
“She had an amazing game,” he said.
Atagi was pleased with her performance, too.
“I went for everything,” said Atagi, who made nine saves.
Atagi credited her performance to practicing alone Sunday out in the rain. As the rain poured, she imagined the various scoring scenarios she might face and rehearsed her defenses against them.
“When you get out to the game, you have to think of it that way,” she said. “You just have to think that there’s nobody else around. You have to tune the other players out and (think) that you’re the only one out there and you’re going to get to every ball.”
Byrne attributed Colon’s ability to adjust to Atagi’s aggressiveness to Colon’s attitude. Colon “always listens” to her coaches and regularly comes off the field asking what she needs to do when she shoots, Byrne said.
“That’s what happened (tonight),” he said. “She came off saying, ‘What do I need to do?’ You always like to hear that as a coach.”
