by Niki Cunningham
Sports Editor
e-reporter
Bob Nielsen
The ladies of the U-14 Lassen Arsenal played their final regular season game on Saturday, Nov. 1st at Anderson River Park against the Anderson Bone Crushers. After having won their first matchup early in the season, Lassen came into the match looking to secure first place for the season.
The Bone Crushers came out early and found a couple of strong shots on goal, saved by goalkeeper Lexie Stevens. Anderson used excellent speed and passing to move the ball down the sidelines. It was only through the many clutch clearances that defenders Amber Jackson, Gabi Nielsen, and Kaylee Dollar kept Anderson from scoring.
The Arsenal offense made some good counter-attacks in the first half. Emma Newton and Brittney Patton worked well together up the left side, and brought the attack to the Crushers keeper. With several good saves, Anderson kept the score tied at 0. Corner kick after corner kick from Jackson went in front of the net, but Lassen couldn’t quite convert the set plays into goals.
With less than 10 minutes to go in the first half, Anderson found an opening in front of the goal, and ripped a shot to the upper near post. Stevens made a great attempt on the ball, batting it down, but it still ended up in the goal, and Anderson Bone Crushers went into halftime winning 1-0.
At the half, Lassen switched a few key positions, moving Shannon Ferrall and Stevens into the defense, Patton into the goal, and Jackson to the offense. Right out of the gates, Jackson used her speed and ball control to get through the defense and get a shot on goal. Although it didn’t go in, it was only the first 35 minutes of excellent Arsenal offense. A few minutes later, Jackson again found herself with the ball in the corner, and after dribbling around a few defenders, shot the ball from a few yards off the end line, over the defense and keeper, into the side netting of the back post, knotting the game at 1-1.
The Bone Crushers struggled to adjust to the offensive pressure, and were unable to get much offense going against the new Arsenal defense. Lassen had chance after chance to take the lead, including a brilliant breakaway by Jamie Elliot. After outpacing the defense, Elliot dribbled into the box, challenging the keeper, who slid in to deny her attempt. The Crushers were able to hold on to keep the score at 1-1.
With the 1-1 tie, Lassen won first place in the Walt Zinko Playing League U-14 girls division, with 7 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie. They will be honored at the upcoming District Cup Tournament in Anderson on Nov 8th and 9th, where they will be playing the other top 4 teams in the League for the District Cup Trophy.
