Defense wins or ties games

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
A defensive battle raged Friday as the Lady Dogies made the long, grueling trip to Riverton for a rematch against the Lady Wolverines. In their first matchup, Newcastle defeated them 2-0 at home, however head coach Cami Willyard expected a much more challenging contest the second time around — and she was right, for a number of reasons.
“First we had a long bus ride and then it was the hottest game we’ve played so far with temperatures in the 80s,” Willyard began. “We also played on a turf field which was probably about 30 yards wider and 20 yards longer than we are used to, so that definitely came into play. The first pass of the game went out of bounds because the ball travels so quickly on turf.”
The two squads went at each other hard through the first 80 minutes of play, and though each had opportunities to put the ball in the back of the net, the scoreboard read 0-0 at the end of regulation.
“It was a really back and forth game the whole time,” Willyard nodded. “There were definite moments when they were possessing more than us, but we had our opportunities as well.”
Keeper Angel Perez and the Lady Dogie defensive line were pivotal in keeping the Lady Wolverines out of the net, and toward the end of the second half the offense put a dangerous ball over the top, which drew the Riverton keeper out of the box.
“She took Gabby [McVay] out which gave us a free kick from just outside the 18,” Willyard explained. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to put it on frame so we missed out on that opportunity to get one on the board.”
In the first 10-minute overtime, Willyard determined that her team dominated Riverton, but were unable to find the back of the net, and the Lady Wolverines had control in the second, and final, 10-minute overtime period. 
Defense again prevailed for each team, so after 100 minutes of play the score remained as goose eggs for both, and the conference match ended in a tie — a shutout for both. 
Perez ended the contest with six saves, and McVay, Alaina Laurence and Caitlyn Pehringer combined for five shots on goal.
Defensive prowess also triumphed on Monday when the ladies traveled to Torrington to make up their earlier scheduled contest which was postponed due to weather. There the Lady Dogies were faced with the extreme opposite field conditions than they had dealt with on Friday. 
“The grass was long and thick, and the ball almost seemed to get stuck at times,” laughed Willyard. “That certainly didn’t help our scoring, but they were playing in the same conditions.”
Offense struggled to get on the board, but defense held the line and kept them out of the goal to take the 1-0 win.
It was the combination of a talented Trailblazer keeper and the drag from the grass which contributed to the lack of scoring for the Lady Dogies. However, the squad had a plethora of opportunities to put the ball in the net with 20 legitimate shots on goal throughout the contest, but were only able to connect on one. 
The pivotal score came about five minutes into the second half. Willyard had challenged her girls to ramp up their intensity and play their game during the break, and the team took it to heart.
The set-up for the goal began as the Lady Dogies executed some great combinations down the side of the field. McVay then sent a through ball to the corner, and Lara Lopez cut the angle of her defender, attacked the goal and finished on the left side with her left foot.
A scary moment for Newcastle occurred with about 10 minutes left to play. They had held the ‘Blazers scoreless up until that point, but a questionable foul call on LaKacee Lipp in the box gave Torrington a penalty kick.
Perez then had the play of the game as she was put under the immense pressure of defending the goal against that PK and in the mano-a-mano face-off, she made a diving save low and on the right side of the net. That would turn out to be the pivotal save to secure the win. 
“As a keeper, your best bet is to pick a side and commit to it. Angel chose to dive to her right and she chose correctly, making a fantastic save on a nice, low ball shot,” Willyard exclaimed. “I say it every week but our back line is tough. We’ve only allowed seven goals all season and those came in our first two games of the season.”
Perez ended the contest with three saves while Lopez, Laurence, McVay, Claire Beastrom, MacKenzie Conzelman and Shawnee Miles combined for the 20 shots on goal. 
The Lady Dogies will have a quick, two-day turnaround before they host the Lady ‘Blazers for a rematch Thursday, and will travel to Rawlins on Saturday to take on the Lady Outlaws for the second time this season. 
“Our goal going into Thursday is to do everything that we’ve been working on and also to finish and get a few more in the back of the net,” Willyard determined. “And we need to not let them hang around and think they have a chance, because any team can be dangerous in that situation.”
It was imperative that the Lady Dogies won against Torrington, and also that they pick up another win against them this Thursday as well as win out against Rawlins and Douglas. If they do so, they will take the No. 1 seed over Buffalo by one point. If not, even if they tie any game, they will be the No. 2 seed heading into the state tournament. 
Action begins at Schoonmaker field on Thursday with varsity kicking off at 4 p.m., followed by a half of a JV contest.