Salina South beats Salina Central for first time since 2006

April 25--Salina South beats Salina Central for first time since 2006

By LARRY MORITZ Salina Journal -- Friday, April 25, 20142:00 AM

Salina South'sElena Garcia was smiling as she talked about getting kicked in the face. That said a lot about the day the sophomore goalkeeper and her Cougar teammates were having.

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Salina South'sElena Garcia was smiling as she talked about getting kicked in the face. That said a lot about the day the sophomore goalkeeper and her Cougar teammates were having.

The accidental blow came less than eight minutes into the game and happened as Garcia was making the first of her eight saves in a 2-0 win over Salina Central on Thursday night at Salina Stadium.

South got a goal in each half, the second with less than 10 minutes remaining to pick up only its third win over Central in the 15-year history of the series. It was also the Cougars' first win over the Mustangs since another 2-0 shutout in 2006.

"This is huge for us," South junior Melissa Mahoney said. "We haven't won a lot of games and lost 10-0 on Tuesday, but we came back and won against Central.

"It's an amazing feeling, especially since we haven't beaten them in years."

"That was probably one of the harder fought games we've played this season," South coach Trey Crow said. "There were moments when it wasn't pretty, but the girls fought all the way through.

"The defense did an outstanding job, getting the shutout and not giving Central a lot of opportunities."

Both teams are now 2-8 overall, with South 1-1 in the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League (Division I) standings, while Central falls to 0-2.

"This means a lot," said South sophomore Kelsie Heier. "We haven't beaten Central in years and I was glad we could do it as a team.

"This could be a turning point for the rest of the season. We have some momentum now and we have to get better from here on out."

Central had several scoring opportunities, with one of its best coming early in the match. Senior forward Brooke Peters used her quickness to separate from a Cougar defender while racing down the middle of the field to get a one-on-one chance against Garcia.

Trying to cut down Peters' angle on goal, Garcia came forward and tried to cover the ball just as Peters attempted to knock it home.

"Even if it meant getting kicked in the face, I was going to stop that ball," Garcia said. "I just went for any ball I could go for all day.

"I was determined we were going to get a shutout in this game. I've wanted one the whole season and this feels good."

South's first goal came from inside the penalty area near the midway point of the first half. Central goalkeeper Bailey Driver had come out of the goal box and collided with South's Lily Escobedo, leaving an open goal.

Heier took advantage, getting a clean shot just inside the left post.

"I just know their goalie came out and the ball hit off another player and I had to poke it in," Heier said. "It was a lucky goal I guess, but as a team we learn to finish what we're given. As a player I did that."

With the 1-0 lead at halftime, the Cougars didn't want to make too many changes in the final 40 minutes. But Crow warned his players Central would be even more aggressive in its attempt to get the tying score.

"We just stressed cleaning up a few areas on defense," Crow said. "We wanted someone on the ball and to not give them space. The other thing was reminding them not to let down. Central was going to come out twice as hard."

"We wanted to keep the pressure on," Heier said. "Don't let up and score another one like we did."

Mahoney gave the Cougars an insurance goal and, as Heier did in the first half, found a clear shot in the game's 72nd minute.

With South's Mikayla Moresco putting pressure on from the left side of the goal, Driver came out to clear a ball just outside the goal box. Driver's kick deflected off Moresco's head at a 90 degree angle to Mahoney, who was waiting on the right side of the box.

"I was thinking it would really help if we got one more goal," Mahoney said. "It would probably make us feel more confident. But for a second there I thought my shot was going to go over the goal."

"When Mikayla made a run and pressured the goalie, the ball went off her face but we were able to score," Crow said. "It was another hard effort defensively."

Central finished with 12 shots to five for South. The Cougars had three shots on goal and converted two of them. The Mustangs had three near misses in the second half, including a shot from Peters from nearly 30 yards out that hit the cross bar, came down two yards in front of the goal and was covered by Garcia.

"That's been the story over this five or six game losing streak," Central coach Dave Ouderkirk said. "We give ourselves opportunities but we are not composed enough in the final third to complete the task.

"We're not getting the job done. Our last game we had 13 opportunities and we didn't score. I don't know if we had 10 today, but we are not finishing."

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