Posted: 9/18/07
Warriors shut out Lake City,
fall to La Crescent by a goal
 Caledonia's Erica Myhre fights for the ball with a la Crescent defender in girls soccer action last week. Photo by Reed Welch |
By Tom Murphy
Special for the Caledonia Argus
Sarah Colleranís scoring burst led the Caledonia High School girls soccer team to a 6-0 rout of Lake City last week. Colleran only took five shots, but made three of them to lead the Warriors to the victory.
Whitney Frank, Theresa Elenz, and Kayla McCormick also had goals.
Ellenz began the scoring at the one minute mark at the start of the game. Twelve minutes into the game, Colleran had scored two more goals to send the Warriors into the half time with a 3-0 lead.
In the second half, McCormick got her goal at 63 minutes followed by Colleranís score seven minutes later. Frank had the last score six minutes after that.
"It was a fun game to coach because everyone had a chance to play," coach Sue Link said. "Our passing game looked good. We are still working on finishing our crosses and our corner kicks," she added.
Lose 2 - 1 to La Crescent
Everyone knew the game with La Crescent here would be the biggest challenge at this point of the young season. The Warriors had only given up one goal so far this year and the Lancers came in and scored two goals, one of which came off a penalty kick.
Link liked the effort of her team. "We played with spirit and motivation. I can tell you that our athletes wanted this game," she said. "We know from the competition we get from playing a team like La Crescent what our capabilities are," she said.Ý
The fact that the edge can by way of a penalty kick told Link just how close the competition is between the two schools.
La Crescent got the first goal ten minutes into the game on that penalty kick with Lydia Allen making good on her only shot of the night. The score remained tied through the half.
"Throughout the game, our defense deserved much credit. It kept La Crescent outside its scoring range, cutting off their angles," Link praised. "Credit the group of Erica Myhre, Brittney Wagner, Kelsey Konkel, Mary Ellen Schiltz and Kayla McCormick."
La Crescent took a 2-0 lead with Kayla Trippís goal before Megan Schmitz put the Warriors on the board 73 minutes into the game. "Her goal was perfectly fired into the right corner of the net," Link said.
"My hat goes off to all of the players in this game. I was extremely pleased with Kelsey Konkel as this was her debut on defense. Ally Sheehan had been out with an ankle injury and Kelsey demonstrated her varsity level of play," Link said.
Link called Brittney Wagnerís defensive effort "relentless. Mary Ellen (Schiltz) moved into the midfield position where she effectively ëdestroyedí La Crescentís advances."
The Lancers came into the game with a reputation for speed and Link noted that "Erica Myhreís speed matched even the fastest of the La Crescent squad."
Goal keeper Arie Albert made some impressive saves, Link thought. "La Crescent shot nine times and Arie answered every shot with a save. She has a calm presence in the box which allows her to keep her focus."
In the portion of the field where attacking takes place, Colleran continued her domination. "She is clearly one of the standout players in our section," Link believes.
Theresa Ellenzí tenacity "is an asset to the team. It comes from inside. She never gives up and her play shines on the field because of her passion."
And, Sara Kasten "came into her game, especially in the second half," the coach recalled. "She has developed into a skilled player. It has been fun for me to watch her development."
The schedule
The Warriors hosted a tournament on Saturday and defeated Mankato Loyola and then beat Kasson-Mantorville, which had beaten Dover-Eyota in its first game.
Link said she is looking for her team to communicate better.
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