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Independence, MO —
It didn’t rain, but Van Horn girls soccer coach Chris Corrie got a shower.
He didn’t seem to mind. He didn’t even try to dodge the ice-water bath his girls doused him with in celebration of their Class 2 District 14 championship. The Falcons topped Lincoln Prep 1-0 to win the program’s first district title.
And despite a 2-14 record heading into the tournament, Corrie always believed the Falcons (4-14) would be holding that trophy at the end of the day.
“At the beginning of the year, our goal was always to win a district championship,” Corrie said. “We knew it would be against Lincoln Prep. We knew we’d be in this game.
“We knew we’d need a little luck, a lot of hard work and just execution of the game plan. It worked.”
Van Horn’s lone goal was courtesy of a little bit of luck.
Sophomore forward Lexy McDonald broke ahead of the Lincoln Prep defense with a quick move. She then sent a high shot straight at the net, but Tigers goalkeeper Asriel Brown got her hands up and stopped the ball.
However, she couldn’t hold on to it as it rolled over her hands and fell just across the goal line in the 22nd minute.
“The soccer gods shined on us a little bit,” Corrie said. “She got the ball at least a centimeter over the line. That’s good enough for me. It counts.”
McDonald said she was just following Corrie’s advice.
“Coach always told us to crash the ball if and when you have a chance,” McDonald said. “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do when it comes down to it.”
What McDonald had to do was battle through a nagging thigh injury, one that caused her to limp throughout the game.
“It really got to me today,” McDonald said.
Nothing got to Van Horn’s defense.
The Falcons defense and goalkeeper Dalanie Krogman rejected all nine shots sent their way by the Tigers. Van Horn took just three shots on goal.
“Our back four and our keeper – just the shape of our defense – all of their shots were from distance,” Corrie said. “They never really had a real clear-cut, great chance, but they did pepper us from distance.
“I never really felt too concerned about it.”
Corrie said it was unlikely the Falcons would be able to match the Tigers’ ball control. So once Van Horn took an early lead, the focus turned to defense.
It didn’t rain, but Van Horn girls soccer coach Chris Corrie got a shower.
He didn’t seem to mind. He didn’t even try to dodge the ice-water bath his girls doused him with in celebration of their Class 2 District 14 championship. The Falcons topped Lincoln Prep 1-0 to win the program’s first district title.
And despite a 2-14 record heading into the tournament, Corrie always believed the Falcons (4-14) would be holding that trophy at the end of the day.
“At the beginning of the year, our goal was always to win a district championship,” Corrie said. “We knew it would be against Lincoln Prep. We knew we’d be in this game.
“We knew we’d need a little luck, a lot of hard work and just execution of the game plan. It worked.”
Van Horn’s lone goal was courtesy of a little bit of luck.
Sophomore forward Lexy McDonald broke ahead of the Lincoln Prep defense with a quick move. She then sent a high shot straight at the net, but Tigers goalkeeper Asriel Brown got her hands up and stopped the ball.
However, she couldn’t hold on to it as it rolled over her hands and fell just across the goal line in the 22nd minute.
“The soccer gods shined on us a little bit,” Corrie said. “She got the ball at least a centimeter over the line. That’s good enough for me. It counts.”
McDonald said she was just following Corrie’s advice.
“Coach always told us to crash the ball if and when you have a chance,” McDonald said. “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do when it comes down to it.”
What McDonald had to do was battle through a nagging thigh injury, one that caused her to limp throughout the game.
“It really got to me today,” McDonald said.
Nothing got to Van Horn’s defense.
The Falcons defense and goalkeeper Dalanie Krogman rejected all nine shots sent their way by the Tigers. Van Horn took just three shots on goal.
“Our back four and our keeper – just the shape of our defense – all of their shots were from distance,” Corrie said. “They never really had a real clear-cut, great chance, but they did pepper us from distance.
“I never really felt too concerned about it.”
Corrie said it was unlikely the Falcons would be able to match the Tigers’ ball control. So once Van Horn took an early lead, the focus turned to defense.
“We weren’t going to be able to control the ball against them,” Corrie said. “So, we had to sink back and just absorb pressure, and we did.”
That’s just the way soccer goes sometimes.
“Sometimes you get an odd, lucky goal and you just defend the rest of the game and win,” Corrie said. “These girls deserved a championship.”
They played like they deserved it too, Corrie said. The Falcons coach wasn’t too pleased with his team’s performance in its district semifinal win against Kansas City East. However, he said Thursday night the Falcons “executed to perfection.”
At least their own brand of perfection.
“We’re never going to be a pretty team,” Corrie said. “We are an ugly, ugly team but with the heart of a champion.”
Van Horn will now play Notre Dame de Sion, which defeated Grain Valley 9-0 to win the District 13 championship, on Tuesday.
It’ll be another great challenge for Van Horn but not one Corrie wanted to worry about just yet.
“We’ll celebrate tonight, and we’ll worry about that later,” Corrie said.
