Skip to main content

Ladies victorious in season opener

By
Sonja Karp, NLJ Sports Editor

Mother Nature tried to thwart the Lady Dogies from kicking off their soccer season last weekend as the second scheduled tournament of the year was canceled in Worland. However, head coach Cami Willyard and crew got the better of her as they picked up a contest against the Scottsbluff JV team on Friday and also nabbed their first win of the year as they got the better of the Lady Bearcats 3-1.
“I was really kind of worried so thank goodness we got to play,” exclaimed Willyard. “It was the perfect competition for us to start our season, because even though they were a JV team, they were really well-disciplined and they had a few girls that were pretty talented with the ball.” 
The Lady Dogies came out strong, holding possession of the ball in their own offensive half of the pitch for the first 10 minutes of the contest. However, according to Willyard, the Lady Bearcats were then able to fall into a groove and slotted a ball through Newcastle’s defense, got past McKenzie Rose, the keeper, and found the back of the net for the first score of the game in the 13th minute.
“I wasn’t positive regarding where I wanted everyone playing, other than my midfield,” Willyard admitted. “After they scored, we changed some things around with girls in different positions to see if that would help.”
Gabby McVay started as the team’s center attacking mid, and Kyah Miller as defensive center mid. However, about half way through the first half, Willyard moved Miller to center back on the defensive line and moved Mia Peterson to the center mid defender and that lineup worked better for the team.
After the initial score by Scottsbluff and the personnel changeup, the Lady Dogies ramped up their attacking game and started to put more pressure on Scottsbluff.
“We were pressing a little bit more, and we had a few really good looks,” Willyard began. “Gabby capitalized on one of those to find the back of the net to tie things up at 1-1 in the 27th minute.”
McVay attacked the ball up the right side and she finished, finding the top of the net.
Eight minutes later, McVay got a pass from Emilie Jensen and found the back of the net again to send her team into the halftime break up 2-1.
“At the break, we talked about endurance because there were quite a few girls who didn’t get subbed out during the game,” Willyard admitted. “With our numbers, that’s just how it’s going to be this year.”
The Lady Dogies came out of the break firing, and the second half was pretty back and forth between the two teams. However, the only aspect of the game that Newcastle didn’t dominate was the out-of-the-air plays where Scottsbluff got the better of the Lady Dogies.
In the 58th minute, McVay put in her third goal to claim a hat trick to kick off her senior season. This time, she dribbled around the defenders and even the keeper to execute an easy, composed goal in the corner of the net.
“Gabby had a nice game,” Willyard nodded. “She had a few opportunities, and one where the keeper was clear out at almost the 18-yard line. Gabby tried to go over the top, but the keeper had a really great save on that one.” 
McVay ended up going 3-8 shots on goal. MacKenzie Conzelman had two shots on goal and was pressing pretty hard on the left wing, but couldn’t get one past the keeper, and Rose ended the day with nine saves.
“Kenz had two great saves in the first half and a few really good ones in the second half as well,” Willyard began. “Ruth Rose, the other wing, also did a great job getting up and down the pitch, and she had a few really good runs.”
“Hailey Beastrom did a phenomenal job in the center back and the whole back line just did a great job,” she continued. “I was proud of the girls’ stamina in their first time out. We only lost three seniors, but had about six or seven who didn’t return, so there were a lot of girls playing next to people they weren't used to, but they handled it very well.” 
This week, the Lady Dogies will host Gering for their home opener on Thursday, and then, they will travel to Worland for their opening conference game on Saturday.

--- Online Subscribers: Please click here to log in to read this story and access all content.

Not an Online Subscriber? Click here to subscribe.



Sign up for News Alerts

Subscribe to news updates