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Independence, MO —
All season long, the Van Horn girls soccer team has prepared for a sectional rematch against Notre Dame de Sion.
That’s what made Tuesday’s 6-0 Class 2 sectional defeat to the Storm at Van Horn High School so disappointing.
After losing to Sion 11-0 in last season’s sectional, the Falcons were convinced things could be different this time around.
Van Horn (10-12) did manage to play a competitive second half, but Sion’s Jess Benninghoff, Tricia White and Betsy Barnthouse knocked in goals in the final 5:16 of the first half after earlier goals by Barnthouse and Jodie Rellihan to give the ninth-ranked Storm (11-9-2) a commanding 5-0 halftime lead.
“With their ability, the match is over,” Van Horn coach Chris Corrie said. “At that point, second half we’re playing for pride, playing for your teammates. I thought we played a nice second half. But those three goals there at the end of the first half, that door was shut.”
So sure, there was the typical disappointment that accompanies every season-ending defeat. But Van Horn also left the field with some pride after refusing to fold over the final 40 minutes.
While the Falcons failed to consistently find senior star goal-scorer Camilla Neumann open in the midfield, they still limited Sion’s chances with a more defensive, counterattacking strategy.
“We wanted to prove that we could compete with them,” Neumann said. “And that’s what we did.”
Van Horn goalkeeper Dalanie Krogman also produced a marvelous effort despite the Storm’s six goals. The sophomore grabbed 14 saves despite facing 20 shots on goal and about another 20 in her vicinity.
With just less than 12 minutes to play, Krogman charged after a loose ball in front of the net as Sion’s Katherine Glaser sprinted toward the scoring opportunity. Krogman dove to the ground, took a knee to the face, secured the ball and drew a foul on Glaser.
“She played a very brave game,” Corrie said. “That save she had in the second half was just first class. That was so brave.”
Krogman, who started in net for the Falcons in last season’s defeat to the Storm, said there were noticeable improvements in nearly all phases of the game since last year’s setback. That didn’t necessarily numb the sting of the disappointment, but it at least provided Van Horn some optimism moving forward.
“It always hurts no matter what,” Krogman said. “No matter what game it is, it always pulls strings at your heart. But you just have to use that as motivation to keep working harder and take it as a learning experience.”
All season long, the Van Horn girls soccer team has prepared for a sectional rematch against Notre Dame de Sion.
That’s what made Tuesday’s 6-0 Class 2 sectional defeat to the Storm at Van Horn High School so disappointing.
After losing to Sion 11-0 in last season’s sectional, the Falcons were convinced things could be different this time around.
Van Horn (10-12) did manage to play a competitive second half, but Sion’s Jess Benninghoff, Tricia White and Betsy Barnthouse knocked in goals in the final 5:16 of the first half after earlier goals by Barnthouse and Jodie Rellihan to give the ninth-ranked Storm (11-9-2) a commanding 5-0 halftime lead.
“With their ability, the match is over,” Van Horn coach Chris Corrie said. “At that point, second half we’re playing for pride, playing for your teammates. I thought we played a nice second half. But those three goals there at the end of the first half, that door was shut.”
So sure, there was the typical disappointment that accompanies every season-ending defeat. But Van Horn also left the field with some pride after refusing to fold over the final 40 minutes.
While the Falcons failed to consistently find senior star goal-scorer Camilla Neumann open in the midfield, they still limited Sion’s chances with a more defensive, counterattacking strategy.
“We wanted to prove that we could compete with them,” Neumann said. “And that’s what we did.”
Van Horn goalkeeper Dalanie Krogman also produced a marvelous effort despite the Storm’s six goals. The sophomore grabbed 14 saves despite facing 20 shots on goal and about another 20 in her vicinity.
With just less than 12 minutes to play, Krogman charged after a loose ball in front of the net as Sion’s Katherine Glaser sprinted toward the scoring opportunity. Krogman dove to the ground, took a knee to the face, secured the ball and drew a foul on Glaser.
“She played a very brave game,” Corrie said. “That save she had in the second half was just first class. That was so brave.”
Krogman, who started in net for the Falcons in last season’s defeat to the Storm, said there were noticeable improvements in nearly all phases of the game since last year’s setback. That didn’t necessarily numb the sting of the disappointment, but it at least provided Van Horn some optimism moving forward.
“It always hurts no matter what,” Krogman said. “No matter what game it is, it always pulls strings at your heart. But you just have to use that as motivation to keep working harder and take it as a learning experience.”
