Dogies improve

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The Dogies have tended toward being a first half team throughout the 2021 season, however in their contests Thursday and Saturday, they put together an entire game and despite losing to Torrington 4-1 and Rawlins 3-0, both scores were much better than those of their first meeting.
Torrington is currently seeded No. 1 in the 3A East conference and they had handed Newcastle a 7-0 defeat May 3. However, when Newcastle headed to them
to play on Thursday, they came in with a determination to do better, which they accomplished.
“I just told the boys that we had played them Monday and did pretty well, considering,” head coach Elyse Dickey began. “So I challenged them to go out and get after them, and they played much better.”
Field conditions were not what the Dogies were accustomed to. Though it was mowed, the grass was thick, which impacted the team a little, especially on the offensive side of the game. Passes that would normally travel much farther were slowed, so Newcastle had to adjust to that issue.
“We did take some shots earlier that normally would have gone farther and probably could have been finished if we were playing on a field that didn’t have that thick grass,” Dickey said. “But we were both playing in the same conditions and once we got used to it, it was okay.”
The Trailblazers scored in the first five minutes, however the Dogies were able to answer back quickly to tie things up at 1-1. The goal initiated from a send by Ezra Anderson which ricocheted, and was recovered by Dayton McFarlin who found Colton Vanderpool-Mobley who sent the ball into the back of the net with a shot high and in the right corner. 
The ‘Blazers were able to regain the lead with 19 minutes remaining in the first half but Dogie defense held them to go into the break down only 1-2.
Knowing the propensity of her team to be a little sluggish in the second half, Dickey had adjusted her lineup a bit which she felt improved her team’s overall performance for the entirety of the game. 
“We switched Dayton and Aidan [Chick] which seemed to help our movement a lot,” Dickey explained. “Those two played off each other much better with Dayton in the midfield and Aidan up on top.”
The ‘Blazers, knowing their field, took advantage of having the choice of side at the beginning of the game resulting in the Dogies having to play into the sun in the second half.
“Their fourth goal definitely got in due to the sun interfering,” Dickey frowned. “Hayden [Overman] didn’t even move when they took the shot because he couldn’t see the ball coming.”
That Overman didn’t move is indeed telling that there was something amiss given that the newly appointed goalkeeper has combined in his three contests as keeper for 56 saves, 22 of which happened against Torrington.
That fourth goal for Torrington came with 32 minutes to play, and then the Dogies were able to hold them out for the remainder of the contest.
“The guys felt a lot better about how they played after the game,” Dickey nodded. “And I talked to Alex Schaneman who was their JV coach two years ago, and he was impressed with how they looked as well.”
On Saturday, the Dogies traveled to Rawlins to take on the Outlaws. After losing to them at home earlier in the season by a score of 1-7, Newcastle was looking to see an improved performance against them as well.
Once again, the boys rose to the occasion and achieved a milestone by holding Rawlins scoreless in the second half, which is the first time this season they were able to do that.
All three of the Outlaws goals in the first half came from really good shots, so the Dogies were applying strong defensive pressure throughout the contest.
Not only did the Dogies perform well defensively, but they also got off five shots on goal which is among some of the better performances of the season. 
“We also had quite a few shots that, while they were a little off target, were at least legitimate ones,” Dickey insisted. “We had a lot of great combinations, and the boys were moving the ball well which is awesome.”
Overman, once again performed well in the goal saving 15 of the Outlaws shots, and McFarlin, Anderson and Chick combined for the team’s shots on goal.
“They know they’re making progress and getting better,” Dickey smiled. “They are gaining confidence so that’s good to see.”
The Dogies will wrap up their season this Saturday as they travel to Douglas for a rematch against the Bearcats which is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.