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Independence, MO —
Don’t be fooled by Shelby Acton’s appearance.
The Truman senior doesn’t cast an imposing figure by any means. She’s soft-spoken, polite and isn’t exactly the type of player to stalk around the soccer field with an intimidating scowl plastered on her face.
But as the Truman girls soccer team battled Fort Osage into penalty kicks in Wednesday’s Class 3 District 15 semifinal, Acton found herself in the exact position her coach and teammates wanted her in: taking the final shot with the match and season on the line.
Acton buried the game-winning shot in the right corner of the net past Fort Osage goalkeeper Haley Thomas to give the Patriots a final 4-3 PK advantage and boost them into Thursday’s championship with a 2-1 victory at Truman High School.
“She got her chance to win it and it was perfect,” Truman coach Jared Byrne said. “If you watch her approach and stuff, she doesn’t necessarily look like she has that killer instinct, but we kind of call her ‘deadeye’ because she does not miss on PKs.”
Of course, the Pats (14-10) have a history of coming through on PKs recently. They’re 3-1 in matches decided by PKs this season, and have downed the Indians three straight times in that fashion.
“We practice penalty kicks every single practice,” Acton said. “And I was thinking, ‘Don’t mess up, just do what you do at practice.’ ... Low and to the corner. I go there every time.”
This defeat conjured an unwanted familiar feeling for the Indians. In addition to losing three consecutive matches to Truman via PK, this was the fourth season in a row Fort (14-11) ended its season with a district defeat to the Pats.
“What can you say?” said Fort Osage coach Andrew Fletcher, who added that this year’s six-player senior class posted a winning season all four years. “It is what it is. We battled hard. I think both teams had chances in overtime and then you get to the shootout and can’t do anything then but just sit on the bench, watch and keep your fingers crossed.”
Fletcher watched as Truman goalkeeper Chrystal Schroeder turned away a pair of shots to provide the difference. Schroeder was inserted in net after the end of the second overtime in place of Aija Meyer in what Byrne described as a “tactical decision.” It had nothing to do with Meyer’s performance, which he added was stellar throughout, but Schroeder played indoor soccer in the winter and possesses quick reflexes ideal for PKs.
The Indians led early in the game as Kathryn Bedsworth knocked in a goal in the fourth minute. Truman tied it in the 41st minute on Marit Gjerde’s unassisted score.
The Patriots play Park Hill South (18-4-2) at 6 p.m. tonight for the district title.
“They have to come out and play hard, but they have to play smart,” Byrne said. “We can’t chase the ball around for 80 minutes and expect to have energy to get a goal. So we have to be extremely disciplined.”
Don’t be fooled by Shelby Acton’s appearance.
The Truman senior doesn’t cast an imposing figure by any means. She’s soft-spoken, polite and isn’t exactly the type of player to stalk around the soccer field with an intimidating scowl plastered on her face.
But as the Truman girls soccer team battled Fort Osage into penalty kicks in Wednesday’s Class 3 District 15 semifinal, Acton found herself in the exact position her coach and teammates wanted her in: taking the final shot with the match and season on the line.
Acton buried the game-winning shot in the right corner of the net past Fort Osage goalkeeper Haley Thomas to give the Patriots a final 4-3 PK advantage and boost them into Thursday’s championship with a 2-1 victory at Truman High School.
“She got her chance to win it and it was perfect,” Truman coach Jared Byrne said. “If you watch her approach and stuff, she doesn’t necessarily look like she has that killer instinct, but we kind of call her ‘deadeye’ because she does not miss on PKs.”
Of course, the Pats (14-10) have a history of coming through on PKs recently. They’re 3-1 in matches decided by PKs this season, and have downed the Indians three straight times in that fashion.
“We practice penalty kicks every single practice,” Acton said. “And I was thinking, ‘Don’t mess up, just do what you do at practice.’ ... Low and to the corner. I go there every time.”
This defeat conjured an unwanted familiar feeling for the Indians. In addition to losing three consecutive matches to Truman via PK, this was the fourth season in a row Fort (14-11) ended its season with a district defeat to the Pats.
“What can you say?” said Fort Osage coach Andrew Fletcher, who added that this year’s six-player senior class posted a winning season all four years. “It is what it is. We battled hard. I think both teams had chances in overtime and then you get to the shootout and can’t do anything then but just sit on the bench, watch and keep your fingers crossed.”
Fletcher watched as Truman goalkeeper Chrystal Schroeder turned away a pair of shots to provide the difference. Schroeder was inserted in net after the end of the second overtime in place of Aija Meyer in what Byrne described as a “tactical decision.” It had nothing to do with Meyer’s performance, which he added was stellar throughout, but Schroeder played indoor soccer in the winter and possesses quick reflexes ideal for PKs.
The Indians led early in the game as Kathryn Bedsworth knocked in a goal in the fourth minute. Truman tied it in the 41st minute on Marit Gjerde’s unassisted score.
The Patriots play Park Hill South (18-4-2) at 6 p.m. tonight for the district title.
“They have to come out and play hard, but they have to play smart,” Byrne said. “We can’t chase the ball around for 80 minutes and expect to have energy to get a goal. So we have to be extremely disciplined.”
