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Short-handed Moshannon Valley girls defeated by Everett
Thursday, September 27, 2012
By Jon Christoff Sports Writer
AMESVILLE - Whether it's injuries or just unfortunate bounces of the ball, things haven't been going as planned for the Moshannon Valley girls soccer team of late.
After defeating Everett earlier this season for their only win, the Damsels have lost six straight and have played the last handful of games with just nine players.
While three players were cleared to return on Wednesday, the saying of ‘when it rains, it pours' still held true.
Mo Valley raced out to a 2-goal lead early in the second half at a soggy Moshannon Valley Athletic Complex, but the speed of the Lady Warriors on the flanks was the Damsels' undoing.
Shiane Pittman scored consecutive goals and Kasi Payne followed with a natural hat trick to lift Everett to its first win of the season, 5-2.
"We just come out flat all the time," said Damsels head coach Carl Yaple, "but we really didn't do too bad. I was planning on playing with nine people and then the trainer cleared three people, so we had flat people who hadn't practiced.
"Everett deserved to win because they played good in the second half, but we played a lot of kickball. I've been telling my team to play more possession ball and I think we did that in the first half. They just got the momentum going and we have a tendency to get our heads down and that was it."
After Wynter Adams weaved through the Lady Warriors' defense to give Mo Valley the lead, Damsels goalkeeper Mikayla Shawver made a save on a penalty kick off the foot of Payne late in the first half.
Adams took the momentum and gave her squad a 2-goal advantage early in the second half with her second goal of the contest.
"(Mikayla) stopped a momentum swing there and that was a boost for our team," said Yaple. "You could see they still had the heart and the fire in them. Once we get down one or two, we seem to quit. We don't know how to keep that energy level up."
Unfortunately for Mo Valley, the momentum was gone as quickly as Pittman could sprint down the left-side of the Damsel defense.
Pittman scored back-to-back goals and had an assist on the eventual game-winner, as Everett earned its first win of the season and avenged the early-season loss.
"You can't get down on yourself (at that point)," Yaple said. "You have to get your head back up, go out there and play hard. Some of the players do that when they miss a kick or something doesn't go to their thought pattern. You have to jump right back in there.
"Soccer is played in milliseconds. You can't take a second to think about something. You have to react and we just don't have that down yet."
Adams weaved through the Lady Warrior defense in the game's 31st minute and later added her second when her shot caromed off the hands of Everett keeper Josie Clark. The ball squirted through Clark's legs and found the back of the net.
Despite having all the momentum, the ball started bouncing the Lady Warriors' way.
Pittman cut the deficit in half less than three minutes after Adams' second tally, and Everett kept peppering Shawver with shot after shot.
Eventually, the ball started sneaking past her.
The Lady Warriors had three golden opportunities while trailing 2-1 but it wasn't until the 57th minute that Pittman's shot caromed off the post and over the goal line.
While Pittman was sprinting past Mo Valley defenders, which logged a lot of minutes due to numerous injuries, the middle of the field opened for Payne, who was able to net a natural hat trick to cap the scoring.
Payne's first goal came on a centering pass from Pittman and she deposited in the upper 90 past Shawver's outstretched hand.
The final two goals mirrored Pittman's, as she broke past the Damsel defenders and booted it into the goal.
"We started to get tired and we didn't have a lot of substitutes," said Yaple. "We tried to change the defense up a little bit by putting in a sweeper. That helped a little bit and then they caught onto that. We changed it up, but we just need more practice with the healthy players ... we just need more jell."
After playing the last couple games short-handed, Yaple was prepared to do so against the Lady Warriors when he received word that three players were cleared to play.
Despite the three added bodies to his roster, Yaple still found his girls tiring when they chased the likes of Pittman and Payne.
"I had every intention of playing with nine players tonight," Yaple said. "We don't have the starting defense that I would like because we still have some injuries out there. Our girls are doing a real good job filling in, but our wind isn't there.
"We were chasing them down in the beginning of the game, and I just think it was a matter of them wearing us down. We couldn't keep up."
Mo Valley (1-8) returns to the pitch on Saturday when it travels to Bald Eagle Area for an 11:30 a.m. kickoff.
Everett 5, Moshannon Valley 2
Scoring Summary
First Half
1. Wynter Adams, MV, (unassisted), 30:56.
Second Half
2. Adams, MV, (unassisted), 41:58.
3. Shiane Pittman, E, (unassisted), 44:18.
4. Pittman, E, (unassisted), 56:14.
5. Kasi Payne, E, (Pittman), 63:27.
6. Payne, E, (unassisted), 66:04.
7. Payne, E, (unassisted), 68:54.
Shots: Everett 15, Mo Valley 9.
Saves: Everett (Josie Clark) 7, Mo Valley (Mikayla Shawver) 8.
Corners: Everett 1, Mo Valley 5.
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