Pats hold off feisty Indians

Kristi Blau had two great passes Friday against host Fort Osage.
One of them just happened to go in the goal.
Blau put Truman on the board in the first half – scoring the eventual game-winner – when her crossing pass found its way into the goal in a 3-0 win over the host Indians, ruining Senior Night for Fort Osage.
“It was a cross,” Blau admitted sheepishly of her goal. “I couldn’t even see the ball (go into the goal) because the sun was in my eyes.
“I was really surprised, but happy to get points on the board.”
That’s because Fort Osage goalie Kelsey Dougherty was making the most of her final home game.
The senior recorded 15 saves – most of those in the first half – in trying to keep the Indians (9-12) in the game against the favored Patriots (20-3).
“This is probably one of my better games,” Dougherty said. “We had a lot to fight for tonight. I had a lot of heart. It was good for us to show everyone what we’re really made of.”
The game stayed 1-0 until halfway through the second half when Taryn Nash put in a header off a perfect corner kick by Michelle Kabrick.
“It was awesome,” Nash said of Kabrick’s pass. “I knew it was totally up to me. I just thought to myself, ‘Don’t mess up.’”
A second great pass from Blau essentially ended the game in the 71st minute. Her through ball led Sarah Franklin perfectly and after a couple of dribbles, Franklin put in the shot.
“Before those last two goals, I jokingly told them, ‘Just pass it in,’” Truman coach Bryan Schmitt said. “We were overhitting our shots. We needed to play it through and relax.
“It helped us at the end to get that third goal. It helped us relax at the end.”
Part of the reason for that pressure on Truman was Fort Osage’s play. The Indians showed better against the Patriots than they have in recent showings, putting pressure on the Patriots defense – even forcing Truman to mix things up to slow the Indians down.
“We switched up the defense,” Nash said. “We moved people around. They were making some great runs. Bailey (Beale) was bringing the ball great up the sideline.”
Beale said one major point of the team needs to improve for her Indians before the district tournament – which begins Monday.
“We need to pass the ball more,” she said. “But I think we showed people they need to come out and play us.”
Indians coach Andrew Fletcher said he was thrilled with his team’s performance, despite the loss. He also said his team is gaining some confidence which will come in handy in a potential district semifinal rematch against the Patriots Tuesday.
“I think slowly, the gap is getting slimmer,” he said. “They’re really good on their side. They’re probably better than we are. But we have a lot of heart and that goes a long way.”
The Indians won the junior varsity game, 2-0.