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Blue Springs, MO —
Long after Allie Stephenson’s teammates have left Larry Stewart Memorial Stadium, following a 3-0 victory over St. Joseph’s Academy Friday afternoon in the Missouri Class 3 state semifinals, the Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year is still answering questions about her two-goal, one-assist performance.
When asked if all the postgame attention gets old, she shrugged her shoulders and said softly, “Sometimes. But if I can talk about the other girls on the team I don’t mind. Our defense was amazing tonight. Can you put that in your story?”
You bet.
Junior goaltender Maddie Dobyns stood tall in the net for the Broncos, and it had nothing to do with her lanky 6-foot frame.
Every time an Angels player made a run at scoring, she came up with an answer.
“We’ve won 14 in a row,” coach Tim Richardson said, “and a lot of them have been shutouts. Allie gets a lot of attention, and she deserves it. We have a solid defense and a lot of good kids on this team. Maddie has been outstanding this season.”
Dobyns recorded her eighth consecutive shutout to lead the Broncos into the 6 p.m. championship game against Cor Jesu Academy.
“They have a lot of girls who have scored a lot of points – it’s not like us, with Allie scoring so many points (63) this season,” Dobyns said. “Our defense is ready, we’re excited about being in the championship game. We can’t wait for tomorrow night.”
The semifinal game was scoreless at the half, and each team had opportunities to take an early lead.
“It’s so nerve-wracking when the game is tied, especially when it’s 0-0,” Dobyns said. “I just said to myself, ‘Our defense is great and I’m going to do all I can do to keep them off the scoreboard.’”
And she was able to accomplish that goal.
“With Maddie in the net, we’re confident when we score one goal,” said Ashley Licata, who scored the third goal on the semifinal win. “We all have confidence in each other. I think that’s a big reason we’re in the championship game.”
Long after Allie Stephenson’s teammates have left Larry Stewart Memorial Stadium, following a 3-0 victory over St. Joseph’s Academy Friday afternoon in the Missouri Class 3 state semifinals, the Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year is still answering questions about her two-goal, one-assist performance.
When asked if all the postgame attention gets old, she shrugged her shoulders and said softly, “Sometimes. But if I can talk about the other girls on the team I don’t mind. Our defense was amazing tonight. Can you put that in your story?”
You bet.
Junior goaltender Maddie Dobyns stood tall in the net for the Broncos, and it had nothing to do with her lanky 6-foot frame.
Every time an Angels player made a run at scoring, she came up with an answer.
“We’ve won 14 in a row,” coach Tim Richardson said, “and a lot of them have been shutouts. Allie gets a lot of attention, and she deserves it. We have a solid defense and a lot of good kids on this team. Maddie has been outstanding this season.”
Dobyns recorded her eighth consecutive shutout to lead the Broncos into the 6 p.m. championship game against Cor Jesu Academy.
“They have a lot of girls who have scored a lot of points – it’s not like us, with Allie scoring so many points (63) this season,” Dobyns said. “Our defense is ready, we’re excited about being in the championship game. We can’t wait for tomorrow night.”
The semifinal game was scoreless at the half, and each team had opportunities to take an early lead.
“It’s so nerve-wracking when the game is tied, especially when it’s 0-0,” Dobyns said. “I just said to myself, ‘Our defense is great and I’m going to do all I can do to keep them off the scoreboard.’”
And she was able to accomplish that goal.
“With Maddie in the net, we’re confident when we score one goal,” said Ashley Licata, who scored the third goal on the semifinal win. “We all have confidence in each other. I think that’s a big reason we’re in the championship game.”
