IOWA CITY– An early 2-0 lead and solid defense delivered the Lady Spartans’ varsity soccer team its final regular season win, 3-1, at Regina Catholic, in Iowa City, on Friday, May 21.
The 12-5 Lady Spartans host the 4-7-1 Central Lee Hawks on Wednesday, May 26, in Class 1A Region 8 quarterfinal.
Solon sophomore Alex Paisley served 80 minutes before the net in Solon’s final regular season game, making two saves and only allowing one first-half goal in the Lady Spartans’ 3-1 triumph over the Regina Catholic Regals.
Lady Spartan sophomore Morgan Link shot six times, thrice on goal, scoring twice in the victory to lead Solon and senior Stella Mesch shot three times for Solon, once successfully on goal. Sophomore Georgia Havlicek took two shots, once on goal; freshman Tali Radcliffe fired once on goal; junior Alex Locke fired once; and freshman Gabby Knipper also took a shot.
“Defensively, I thought our back line did a great job stepping to the ball and shutting down (Grace Gaarde),” praised Solon Head Coach Amanda Paulson. “I thought our center mids did a good job winning the ball in the middle and distributing to our outside mids. Georgia Havlicek did a great job as outside mid and (Morgan) Link did well running at their back line.”
Regina’s Grace Gaarde was responsible for the Regals’ sole score as the Lady Spartans allowed Regina 10 shots, only three of which were on goal. The loss relegated the Regals to 7-7 for the season.
“Regina is always a huge win and it was great to finish our regular season with a W,” Coach Paulson added. “I think it made a statement, especially since Regina is ranked above us for 1A.”
The Lady Spartans face Central Lee on Wednesday, May 26, at Spartan Stadium, in a Class 1A Region 8 quarterfinal at 6 p.m. to decide who will compete on Tuesday, June 1, at 6 p.m., in Spartan Stadium, against either Mid-Prairie (10-5) or Columbus (7-4). The winner of the June 1 conflict advances to the regional championship game on Friday, June 4, held at the highest remaining ranked school.
“Every playoff game is important,” Coach Paulson said. “And we should approach each game as an opportunity to work on the technical details. I think we will do well against Central Lee and it should be a good game to work on our offensive runs and shooting.
“The girls need to make sure they are mentally and physically prepared for every game and working until the final whistle, there is no room for error in the postseason.”