The Sweet Home girls soccer team extended its record to 4-1-1 last week when it came from behind on the road to defeat Central’s varsity soccer team 3-2.
“It was ugly, but it was another win,” Coach Ramiro Santana said. “They’re good. That’s one of our big, big teams to play.”
The Huskies scored first when Rylee Links scored off an assist from Megan Rubidoux 1:05 into the game.
“We woke up Central, and Central started to come really strong,” Santana said. “They scored within 10 minutes after us.”
Central scored on a pass from the outside to the middle on a shot low and left into the goal.
The Huskies played well after that, Santana said, but 35 to 36 minutes into the game, Central scored again as a Central forward put it over goalie Sabrina Davis’ head.
With a history of losing seasons, the mental game is still a challenge for the Huskies when they’re down, he said. The girls looked tired, and three of them were out sick, including Shelbey Gillespie, Jazmine Morris and Tasha Saunders.
“They think they can’t overcome, but it’s a team we can overcome,” Santana said. “You can’t just sit back and watch. You’ve got to continue playing.”
The team went proudly back onto the field in the second half, Santana said
“We came out and we played beautifully. We dominated the back and forth.”
At 1:20 into the half, Links took the ball from the middle of the field up the left side and dished it off to Jessica Snow who took the ball back to the middle around the defenders and put it in to the right of Central’s goalie.
Ten minutes later, Snow received a pass from Rubidoux and took a shot, Santana said. The goalie stopped the shot, and the ball bounced back. Snow kicked it in again, right under the goalie for the winning score.
The girls had enough depth to run subs in and stay refreshed in the long run, Santana said.
“It was a great game,” he said. “It was tough.”
It also was a good chance to see what the girls could do, he said, and they can win when it gets tough.
The Huskies took 23 shots on goal, while Central had 16.
Davis had eight saves throughout the first half and part of the second half, Santana said. “Sabrina Davis did excellent. She played great.”
Kristen Tolle went to goalie in the bottom of the second half and had five saves.
The Huskies open league play today at home against Jefferson. They will face Western Mennonite at home on Oct. 8.
Their next league match at home will be Oct. 14, a rematch with Central.
As he looks forward to the looming tests in league play, Santana said, his team has speed, and it’s got its midfield game together.
“We’ve got what we need,” he said. “It’s just putting it together.”