Northview Titans Junior Varsity Girls Game Summaries
Northview v Milton - 1-2
April 17th, 2006
The Lady Titans JV soccer team traveled to Milton for their season finale against a very solid Eagle team. And though the thunderstorms that had rumbled through the area earlier in the day were long gone, lightning struck quickly in Milton’s favor. Just one minute into the contest, a routine throw in by the Eagles resulted in a score when the ball bounced free in front of the goal and was kicked lightly past a hard charging Gracie Kessenich, who just missed the save.
Perhaps a little taken aback by the unfortunate series of events to open the game, Northview seemed to play the majority of the first half in a daze, allowing the Milton girls to dictate the flow of the game. The defense did tighten, but the majority of the first half action was all in favor of the host team. Kessencih stepped up to make several stops, including a hard shot at the 26:00 mark that she deflected out of harms way.
With just over 18 minutes to play in the first half, Milton stunned the Lady Titans again when an Eagle forward lifted a long shot from way outside the 18 over the defense – and over the hands of the leaping Kessenich and in for the score. Down by two goals for the first time all season, it was obvious that this may not be Northview’s night.
Then, with ten and a half minutes to go in the first period, midfielder Tara Holland lofted a throw in over the Milton defense, leading out forward Hillary Millard. Millard fielded the pass in stride and fired a beautiful left footed shot past the opposing keeper, slipping just inside the far post for the score. Getting on the board gave the girls a spark, and they finished out the half in a much stronger fashion – but still down 2-1.
Half number two was indeed a much different contest. Northview came out inspired, winning the ball more often than not and going on the attack. Yet the first break again seemed to go Milton’s way when the ball bounded free in the box. But this time Kessenich cleared it long just ahead of the offensive player. A few minutes later, the Eagles got another good look at the goal and again Gracie came up big and made the stop. It was clear that Northview came to play in this half!
At 25:30, Millard sent a nice cross over to Rae Mueller (now playing center mid) who was positioned perfectly right in front of the Milton goal. Her shot appeared to be on target for the equalizer, but it was just high and bounced off the crossbar. Another bad break for the Titans!
The two squads battled on, with neither able to convert. The Lady Titans defense of Kate Dixon, Mara Hamilton, Caitlin Swindall and Haley Nelson denied Milton time and again. Two plays particularly stand out – at the 21:00 mark, a Milton forward broke free for a one on one with our goalie, only to see the opportunity smothered by Dixon. At 16:00, the Eagles sent a header towards the goal off of a corner kick. The ball was cleared, but back into play for Milton. The inevitable shot however was high, banging off the crossbar and behind for a goal kick.
The Northview midfielders were in the mix as well, battling the Eagles for possession. Kellie Aarons, Sara Gibson, Olivia Alonso (after playing some goalie in the first half), Rachel Wilson, Lisa Johnson and Anna Kornmayer all contributed to the action and put the pressure on Milton. The final ten minutes of the contest saw a flurry of action on the Milton side of field, but despite the offensive efforts of Millard, Mueller and Stephanie Andino, the Lady Titans came up just short. The final score stood at 2-1 in favor of the home team.
Despite dropping their last two contests, the Lady Titans finished the JV season with a very respectable 6-3-1 record. They outscored their opponents 24-7. Goalies Gracie Kessenich and OIivia Alonso combined for six shutouts. The leading scorer was Stephanie Andino with 13 goals, followed by Hillary Millard with 6, Rae Mueller with 3 and Anna Kornamyer with 1.
Congratulations to the JV Lady Titans Soccer team and Coach Julie Conner on a great season!
