Ladies lose a close one

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
Head coach Bryce Hoffman’s Lady Dogies kicked off their conference season last Friday in their home opener against the Lady Bearcats of Douglas. With much on the line regarding state qualification, the squad was determined to get the W, but unfortunately that was not to be as time ran out and they lost by just one goal, 2-3.
“In the first 20 minutes, I really felt like we pushed the pace and had them on their heels,” Hoffman began. “We were doing a nice job on offense, we just couldn’t break through to get a good shot on goal.”
Their inability to get past the goalie early led to the Lady Cats getting on the board first with a goal in the seventh minute of play.
“Their goal was a series of events that we have been working on in practice, but we just didn’t execute during the game,” Hoffman frowned. “We just broke down a little bit which led them to having a corner kick opportunity they used to score on us.”
Fortunately, the Lady Dogies were able to answer back with a goal of their own three minutes later. The execution of said goal was one that involved teamwork, which reiterated what Hoffman identified as a vital part of the game — taking advantage of the first touch.
“The first touch is so important because it gives you time to make a good decision, so that’s what we’re going to be talking about in practice this week,” Hoffman nodded. “We used that first touch to our advantage and were able to score from it.”
The sequence began with a first touch by Madi Pearson, who had her back to the goal. She dropped the ball to Caitlyn Pehringer, who had her eyes up the field where she saw Lara Lopez, and passed her the ball. Then Lopez one-touched it from 25 yards out, putting the ball right over the top of the goalie.
“Their goalkeeper had no chance to save that shot,” Hoffman declared. “It was just that great of a play by our team with those three players connecting really well!”
At that point, the game was tied at 1-1, but Douglas soon had an answer for Newcastle. Just a few minutes after Lopez’s goal, they got a good shot on frame to go up 2-1. The Lady Cats scored their third and final goal of the game right before half, when the team’s biggest threat was able to get away from the defense.
“We went into halftime down 1-3, so we talked about doing the little things right, winning the 50-50s. We talked about playing the edges and getting behind them defensively,” Hoffman explained. “When we came out, we were able to do that a couple of times.”
The Lady Dogies scored right away as the second half commenced by earning a corner kick. Pearson scored on the kick-in from Alaina Laurence, but the official had blown the ball dead due to a foul by Douglas. 
“Thankfully, the soccer gods didn’t give us any trouble as Caitlyn was able to step up and complete the PK,” Hoffman smiled. “She definitely had been there before, having had several opportunities to take those shots last weekend against Rawlins and Star Valley.”
That left Newcastle down 2-3 — and though Hoffman felt like his team controlled the contest for the remaining minutes, and up until the final seconds ticked off the clock believed his team would push the game into overtime — it was not to be.
“Until four seconds were left in the game, I still thought we were going to score,” Hoffman exclaimed. “But when Douglas got the ball clear with four seconds left, I knew we didn’t have a shot.”
“I think it’s important that the girls, and we as a coaching staff, believe that we were in the game right up until the final whistle,” he stressed. “They played with a lot of heart, and should know that with just a couple of things going our way we win that game.”
Going forward, Hoffman admitted his team is a little behind the ball regarding their conference record and state qualification, but all are looking forward to having a chance for redemption on Friday as they face off against Rawlins.
The contest was postponed from last Saturday due to the adverse conditions of the Outlaws’ field. As such, the two teams will play in Douglas this Friday, with kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m.