|
|
|
Lee's Summit, MO —
Cor Jesu Academy coach Melissa Bruno did her homework before the Chargers met Lee's Summit North Saturday night at Blue Springs South High School in the Missouri Class 3 state championship soccer game.
"We didn't want to give them any opportunities to score," Bruno said, "and they didn't have many.This is by far the best game we've played this season."
"We knew we had to keep (Allie) Stephenson and (Ashley) Licata from getting the ball," Bruno said, "and we had to find a way to score early. If we could do that, we felt like we could win the game."
Stephenson, who led the area in scoring with 63 points, and Licata, who finished with 24, each had just two shots on goal and the Chargers scored three first-half goals to claim a 3-0 victory at Larry Stewart Memorial Stadium."We've started games as well as we started tonight, and we've finished games as strong as we finished, but this is by far the most complete game we've played this season," Bruno said, as her 23-2 team celebrated with fans in the background.
"North is a great team. I don't know if we've played against a team with a better player than Stephenson, but we've put Kathy Golterman on our opponent's top player all this year, and I don't know if she's ever played better than she did tonight against Stephenson."North coach Tim Richardson had a quiet, heart-to-heart meeting with his team following the loss, and he basically agreed with everything Bruno said about the highly anticipated game that turned into a spotlight showcase for the Chargers.
"We got in the hole early on a couple of soft goals," Richardson said, "and we couldn't get out. You have to give them credit - they denied us the chance to get Allie and Ashley into the game."We couldn't get them the ball. There are games where you have to give your opponent credit, and this is one of those games. They beat us to the ball, they beat us at just about everything tonight."
The 24-4 Broncos had won 14 games in a row and junior goalkeeper Maddie Dobyns had recorded eight consecutive shutouts.But that all ended at the 10-minute mark of the first half when Jennifer Miller fired a shot through a swarm of Charger and Bronco players from 25 yards out.
The ball dribbled off Dobyn's hands, through her legs and into the net.When asked if she was screened by all the players between her and Miller, Dobyns said, "I don't even know what happened on that shot."
The second goal came after Cor Jesus' Katherine Tarlas collided with Dobyns in front of the net."She knocked all the air out - I was down and having trouble breathing," Dobyns explained, "and they scored again."
With Dobyns on the ground, Kelly Miller tapped the ball into the empty net at the 15-minute mark.The third Chargers goal came when Teresa Wemhoener scored from six yards out, on another play where Dobyns had little chance of stopping the ball.
"We're a team that's come back from deficits all season," Dobyns said, her eyes red and her cheeks streaked with tears, "but we couldn't come back tonight. We tried to come back, we just couldn't."The Broncos had just one shot on goal in the first half and six in the game, while the Chargers peppered the net with 17 shots.
Cor Jesu goalkeeper Samantha Bersett recorded the shutout and had just one save."We didn't want to give them any opportunities to score," Bruno said, "and they didn't have many.This is by far the best game we've played this season."
This wasn't the way Licata wanted her Bronco career to come to an end, but she managed to put a positive spin on the difficult defeat.
"I'm so proud to be a part of this team," Licata said, as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "We had a great season, but we didn't play well tonight. I think the other team wanted it more, and they won the championship - but that's not going to take away from all the great memories I will have playing for North."
Cor Jesu Academy coach Melissa Bruno did her homework before the Chargers met Lee's Summit North Saturday night at Blue Springs South High School in the Missouri Class 3 state championship soccer game.
"We didn't want to give them any opportunities to score," Bruno said, "and they didn't have many.This is by far the best game we've played this season."
"We knew we had to keep (Allie) Stephenson and (Ashley) Licata from getting the ball," Bruno said, "and we had to find a way to score early. If we could do that, we felt like we could win the game."
Stephenson, who led the area in scoring with 63 points, and Licata, who finished with 24, each had just two shots on goal and the Chargers scored three first-half goals to claim a 3-0 victory at Larry Stewart Memorial Stadium."We've started games as well as we started tonight, and we've finished games as strong as we finished, but this is by far the most complete game we've played this season," Bruno said, as her 23-2 team celebrated with fans in the background.
"North is a great team. I don't know if we've played against a team with a better player than Stephenson, but we've put Kathy Golterman on our opponent's top player all this year, and I don't know if she's ever played better than she did tonight against Stephenson."North coach Tim Richardson had a quiet, heart-to-heart meeting with his team following the loss, and he basically agreed with everything Bruno said about the highly anticipated game that turned into a spotlight showcase for the Chargers.
"We got in the hole early on a couple of soft goals," Richardson said, "and we couldn't get out. You have to give them credit - they denied us the chance to get Allie and Ashley into the game."We couldn't get them the ball. There are games where you have to give your opponent credit, and this is one of those games. They beat us to the ball, they beat us at just about everything tonight."
The 24-4 Broncos had won 14 games in a row and junior goalkeeper Maddie Dobyns had recorded eight consecutive shutouts.But that all ended at the 10-minute mark of the first half when Jennifer Miller fired a shot through a swarm of Charger and Bronco players from 25 yards out.
The ball dribbled off Dobyn's hands, through her legs and into the net.When asked if she was screened by all the players between her and Miller, Dobyns said, "I don't even know what happened on that shot."
The second goal came after Cor Jesus' Katherine Tarlas collided with Dobyns in front of the net."She knocked all the air out - I was down and having trouble breathing," Dobyns explained, "and they scored again."
With Dobyns on the ground, Kelly Miller tapped the ball into the empty net at the 15-minute mark.The third Chargers goal came when Teresa Wemhoener scored from six yards out, on another play where Dobyns had little chance of stopping the ball.
"We're a team that's come back from deficits all season," Dobyns said, her eyes red and her cheeks streaked with tears, "but we couldn't come back tonight. We tried to come back, we just couldn't."The Broncos had just one shot on goal in the first half and six in the game, while the Chargers peppered the net with 17 shots.
Cor Jesu goalkeeper Samantha Bersett recorded the shutout and had just one save."We didn't want to give them any opportunities to score," Bruno said, "and they didn't have many.This is by far the best game we've played this season."
This wasn't the way Licata wanted her Bronco career to come to an end, but she managed to put a positive spin on the difficult defeat.
"I'm so proud to be a part of this team," Licata said, as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "We had a great season, but we didn't play well tonight. I think the other team wanted it more, and they won the championship - but that's not going to take away from all the great memories I will have playing for North."
