|
|
|
Grain Valley, MO —
The No. 2-seeded Grain Valley girls soccer team went into its Class 2 District 13 semifinal contest against arch-rival Oak Grove Wednesday night with one goal.
“We wanted to score early and score often,” said sophomore Nathalia Barr, who had a goal and three assists as the Eagles scored three goals in the first half, two in the second and claimed a 5-0 victory at Moody Murry Field in Grain Valley.
The win sets up a championship game against No. 1-seed Notre Dame de Sion, which claimed a 10-0 mercy rule win over Grandview in the other semifinal contest, at 6 p.m. Friday at Grain Valley.
“We played Sion in the championship game last year and lost 9-0,” Barr added, “and we were all so excited because they didn’t score 10 goals against us. We’re so much better this year. I don’t know if we can beat them, but we’re going to give it our best. None of us think it’s going to be 9-0 this year.”
And that includes coach Aleana Balistreri, who is building a powerhouse in Grain Valley. The Eagles will take a 17-7 record into the championship contest.
“I’m so proud of the way the girls played tonight,” Balistreri said. “Our goal was to get an early lead and to build on it throughout the game. When you score five goals, everyone pays attention to the offense, but our defense was amazing tonight – just amazing.”
Grain Valley goaltender Darby Scharfenkamp recorded the shutout without making a save. She faced just one shot as the Eagles rarely allowed the Panthers to cross midfield.
“Abby Winter, our sweeper, did a great job tonight,” Balistreri added. “She’s so calm, she keeps everything under control. Sianna (Aumua) usually gets the other team’s top scorer and she did a great job tonight, and Jenna (Prue) and Cory (Henson) were just spectacular – everyone on the defense was spectacular.”
Devan Fairfield gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead just 12 minutes into the first half off an assist from Barr. Four minutes later, it was 2-0 as Barr scored off an assist from Morgan Clark.
The Eagles made it 3-0 in the 25th minute when Reighan Childers scored off an assist from Fairfield.
Fairfield scored her second goal at the 56-minute mark when she drilled the ball past Oak Grove goalkeeper, Sam Crawford, who batted away a shot by Barr that bounced right in front of Fairfield.
“We wanted to get an early lead,” said Fairfield, who scored her 31st goal in the game, tying the Eagles’ single-season scoring mark.
“I didn’t even know that until Coach just told us,” Fairfield said. “That’s pretty special.”
Childers wrapped up the scoring with her second goal with just seven minutes left in the game. Barr was credited with her third assist.
The No. 2-seeded Grain Valley girls soccer team went into its Class 2 District 13 semifinal contest against arch-rival Oak Grove Wednesday night with one goal.
“We wanted to score early and score often,” said sophomore Nathalia Barr, who had a goal and three assists as the Eagles scored three goals in the first half, two in the second and claimed a 5-0 victory at Moody Murry Field in Grain Valley.
The win sets up a championship game against No. 1-seed Notre Dame de Sion, which claimed a 10-0 mercy rule win over Grandview in the other semifinal contest, at 6 p.m. Friday at Grain Valley.
“We played Sion in the championship game last year and lost 9-0,” Barr added, “and we were all so excited because they didn’t score 10 goals against us. We’re so much better this year. I don’t know if we can beat them, but we’re going to give it our best. None of us think it’s going to be 9-0 this year.”
And that includes coach Aleana Balistreri, who is building a powerhouse in Grain Valley. The Eagles will take a 17-7 record into the championship contest.
“I’m so proud of the way the girls played tonight,” Balistreri said. “Our goal was to get an early lead and to build on it throughout the game. When you score five goals, everyone pays attention to the offense, but our defense was amazing tonight – just amazing.”
Grain Valley goaltender Darby Scharfenkamp recorded the shutout without making a save. She faced just one shot as the Eagles rarely allowed the Panthers to cross midfield.
“Abby Winter, our sweeper, did a great job tonight,” Balistreri added. “She’s so calm, she keeps everything under control. Sianna (Aumua) usually gets the other team’s top scorer and she did a great job tonight, and Jenna (Prue) and Cory (Henson) were just spectacular – everyone on the defense was spectacular.”
Devan Fairfield gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead just 12 minutes into the first half off an assist from Barr. Four minutes later, it was 2-0 as Barr scored off an assist from Morgan Clark.
The Eagles made it 3-0 in the 25th minute when Reighan Childers scored off an assist from Fairfield.
Fairfield scored her second goal at the 56-minute mark when she drilled the ball past Oak Grove goalkeeper, Sam Crawford, who batted away a shot by Barr that bounced right in front of Fairfield.
“We wanted to get an early lead,” said Fairfield, who scored her 31st goal in the game, tying the Eagles’ single-season scoring mark.
“I didn’t even know that until Coach just told us,” Fairfield said. “That’s pretty special.”
Childers wrapped up the scoring with her second goal with just seven minutes left in the game. Barr was credited with her third assist.
