VINTON– “We played a lot of defense against Vinton-Shellsburg, especially in the second half,” Head Coach Amanda Paulson outlined. “Our goal from (Morgan) Link in the first half was huge for our match. This was a great through ball from (Gabby) Knipper that Link ran onto. Her composure in front of the goal allowed her to slot it to the corner.”
It was all the Solon varsity girls’ soccer team needed to procure the win and move to 10-4 on the season, dropping the Vinton-Shellsburg Vikettes to 8-6, following a 1-0 win at Vinton-Shellsburg High School on Friday, May 14.
Morgan Link sliced the ball into the net for Solon in the first half courtesy of an assist by Gabby Knipper and the Spartan defense held to deliver the Lady Spartans their 10th win of the season.
Link was responsible for the solo score with four shots, two of them on goal. Knipper was credited with Solon’s sole assist; Stella Mesch took two shots on goal; Sydney Rissman fired once on goal and Akex Locke took one shot.
“Vinton’s number 10 (Abby Davis) and 16 (Ashlie Meyer) certainly gave our defense a run, but there were no surprises,” Paulson said following the game. “We were ready for the offensive attack.”
Solon’s goalie Alex Paisley served 80 minutes and turned away 10 shots for the Lady Spartans.
“I think our game would have looked cleaner Friday night against Vinton if we hadn’t already had two games on the week… but I’ll still take the win,” Paulson said.
The Lady Spartans hosted the Clear Creek Amana Clippers (13-2 going into the game) on Tuesday, May 18, at 5:30 p.m., and travel to Tipton City Park on Thursday, May 20, to battle the Tipton Tigers (5-6 at the time of filing) at 5:30 p.m. Solon finishes the regular season at Iowa City Regina Catholic High School on Friday, May 21, at 5:30 p.m. against the Runnin’ Regals (6-6 at the time of filing). Solon’s postseason competition begins on Wednesday, May 26, at 6 p.m. as the Lady Spartans host the Central Lee Hawks (4-7-1 at the time of filing) at Spartan Stadium in the Class 1A Region 8 quarterfinal.
With the busy final three weeks of the regular season, and eyes set on the regional quarterfinal, the Lady Spartans, a little banged up, are riding a high of recent successes both on the road and at home.
Paulson shared the teams’ desire to finish strong.
“Clear Creek-Amana at home will be a challenge, they’ve had a great season,” she said. “We will have senior night, so I know the girls will come out with high energy. My only concern for the week is fatigue, but the girls are pushing strong and we’ve had a good string of wins. I have nothing but positive vibes and full confidence in the team. No concerns going into the postseason, we are only building momentum. What I love about this group is our ability to play as a team and not rely on one player. We also have flexibility in where we position individuals based on the competition.”