The Lady Spartans continued their dominant way this season as they extended their win streak to four in a row last week. Solon captured another decisive victory at the Wellman Rotary Soccer Fields over the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks 4-0 on Monday, April 11, and returned to Spartan Stadium Thursday, April 14, to steal a 1-0 triumph in blustery conditions from the visiting Beckman Catholic Blazers.
In the first regular season road game for Solon, the Lady Spartans took a 1-0 lead in the first half and added three goals in the second half in a dominant performance over the Golden Hawks.
“The first road trip was a beautiful day, finally!” Head Coach Amanda Paulson exclaimed. “The girls got off the bus and warmed up well and had a great attitude. It was a slower start offensively but we had 12 shots on goal and great energy off the bench from Elena Swan and Addi Greene. Defensively, Valerie Miller did a great job of shutting down Mid-Prairie’s (Ester Hughes) and we were able to keep the ball away from our keeper.”
Goalkeeper Alex Paisley recorded one save in 80 minutes defending the Lady Spartans’ goal against two shots taken by the freshman Zoey Curtiss, only one recorded on goal.
“The Golden Hawks put a few more numbers in the middle, especially in the second half,” Coach Paulson commented. “This just allowed us to play the ball wide a bit more.”
Solon’s offense assailed the Golden Hawk goal 25 times with 13 shots on goal and four goals.
Morgan Link assaulted the Golden Hawks’ goal three times (twice on goal) scoring once and recording Solon’s sole assist. Gabby Knipper fired twice (once on goal), finding success; Alex Locke scored once for Solon shooting once on goal; and Addi Greene fired once, on goal, finding success. Rose McAtee shot six times with four on goal for Solon; Farrah Hendricks took three shots (two on goal); Grace Yetley shot three times; Elena Swan took two shots (one on goal); and Georgia Havlicek fired once on goal.
Coach Paulson indicated atmosphere for the first road game of the season is a little different.
“The pre-game looks a little bit different since the girls are on the bus instead of the locker room, but they do a great job of mentally preparing before each game,” she responded. “The girls listen to music and get each other pumped up on the bus. As far as grass games, we make sure we get a lot of touches on the ball during warm ups to get used to the surface change.”
But she assured consistency breeds success.
“Our preparation is the same home and away. We try to take a look at who our opponent is and if we need to change anything in our game plan. We also have to look at the elements, what field we are playing on and make adjustments as needed.”
The win moved Solon to 4-1 on the season, relegating Mid-Prairie to 2-2.
The Lady Spartans game-winning goal over the Beckman Catholic Blazers on April 14 arrived courtesy of recently anointed KCRG Athlete of the Week Link scoring in the first half, and two Paisley saves in the goal in the second half, to cement the Spartan victory and fourth consecutive shutout. Solon has outscored the last four opponents 18-0, and so far this season has outscored WaMaC opponents 24-0.
The Blazers fired offensively five times (three on goal).
The Lady Spartans offense attacked Beckman’s goal 14 times with ten shots on goal. Link fired six times (four on goal); Knipper fired three times (twice on goal); McAtee shot twice (both on goal); Locke shot once on goal as did Reilly Johnson. Grace Yetley shot once.
“This game was absolutely different due to the strong winds,” Coach Paulson stated. “With the cross wind, the game was played down the east side of the field a lot. It changed our throw in, set pieces and how we won the ball out of the air. The girls had to think about where they were on the field and what kind of ball they could realistically play.”
She also felt the game was impacted by the heavy gusts.
“I’m sure the game would have been a bit different,” Paulson assessed. “I felt we possessed the ball better and had more dangerous scoring opportunities, and I think we would have had that without the wind. Beckman plays with a high-three press, which is always challenging defensively. We were able to control through the midfield and create more dangerous scoring opportunities from outside.”
The Lady Spartans moved to 5-1 on the season following the win and sit atop the WaMaC East 4-0 atop Mount Vernon (3-1, 2-1), Beckman Catholic (2-2, 2-2), Maquoketa (0-4, 0-4), Marion (0-4, 0-2) and West Delaware (0-5, 0-4).
Link was named KCRG’s Athlete of the Week by Scott Saville on TV9’s 10 p.m. airing April 14 citing viewer voting and a 25 goal performance last season along with her 11th score this season earlier in the evening.
“I was happy she was able to score on the day she was named athlete of the week,” Coach Paulson praised. “We are all proud of Morgan and her accomplishments and she acknowledges the support she has from her teammates. We have a very successful team and they all support each other and play a vital role. We are successful because of our team as a whole.”
Solon visited Benton Community High School on April 18 to battle the Bobcats, then travel to West Liberty High School Thursday, April 21, to take on the Comets, at 5 p.m., and return to the pitch at Spartan Stadium on Saturday, April 23, at 10 a.m., to meet the Liberty Lightning, the Lady Spartans’ preseason scrimmage opponent.
Coach Paulson and the Lady Spartans greet each opponent one at a time, riding the wave of success.
“I don’t have any major concerns,” Coach Paulson emphasized. “Each game brings its own challenge whether its higher level of competition, tired legs, traveling or playing on grass. Liberty High school is a larger school and will be a challenging game for us. I’m excited to see how we measure up against higher-level competition. Andrew West and I will continue to look for focus, energy, intensity and composure on the ball as we move forward with the season.”
Beckman’s Ellie Brown intercepts Gabby Knipper Thursday, April 14 at home. The Lady Spartans defeated the Blazers 1-0.