The Panthers (3-4, 1-4 5A/4A Southwestern League) were walloped by the Fruita Wildcats (6-4, 4-0 5A/4A Southwestern League) on Friday, and then on Saturday, they fell to the Montrose Indians (6-4, 2-2 5A/4A Southwestern League).
The common theme in both games was the Panthers’ second-half play.
M-CHS trailed just 2-0 at halftime of the Fruita game, but the Wildcats scored five goals in the second half to win, 7-1. And then against Montrose, the Lady Panthers tied the game at 1-1 early in the second half before the Indians ran away late in the contest to win, 5-1.
Head coach Nate Ross stressed conditioning and closing out games this week in practice, and on Wednesday against Pagosa Springs (6-2, 6-1 3A Region 5 League), the Lady Panthers came through to snap a three-game losing streak.
“We were actually a bit hesitant in the first half, to play the aggressive soccer that I like these girls to play,” Ross said. “But once we started to pressure and once we started to be more aggressive, Pagosa eventually broke down and we were able to find those openings.”
Codi Archuleta, Nichole Kibel and Yanibah Bayles each had decent looks early on, but after 27 minutes of play, the game was still scoreless.
Then in the 28th minute, junior Britaney Hampton got the Panthers on the board.
From her forward position, Hampton pressured the Pirates into making a pass that was picked off by teammate Gabby Wolf, who then pushed the ball ahead to Hampton.
From there, Hampton beat a defender into the box and – with her left foot – put a shot into the back right corner of the net.
The goal gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead heading into halftime, and Hampton nearly scored again just four minutes into the second half, but her shot doinked off the right post.
Filling in for senior Weslie Kirks – who was out after receiving two yellow cards against Montrose –Ross praised Hampton’s performance.
“She played an outstanding game up at forward,” he said. “She was pressing high, putting a lot of pressure on the defense and she had a couple of shots off the crossbar. She was a big reason why we were able to move forward and pressure the other team’s defense and win balls at midfield and have opportunities.”
The Lady Panthers controlled the ball for most of the contest, but with M-CHS leading 1-0 midway through the second, Pagosa Springs had its chances.
First, the Pirates sent a shot into the crowded box, causing confusion. M-CHS goalkeeper Stevee Brenner initially moved towards the shot, but after the ball bounced off multiple players, she found herself a bit out of position.
Luckily for the Panthers, after bouncing around in the crowd like a pinball, junior Cassidy Leonard headed the ball out of harm’s way.
Brenner had the Panthers’ other big save of the day just four minutes later, leaping up and snagging a shot sent by Pagosa junior Hannah Marnocha to prevent it from sailing over her head into the net.
“A couple of shots that Pagosa put on frame were good, solid shots,” said Ross. “Stevee is one of those raw players that is just athletic and has great, strong hands.”
“I saw a couple of shots about 20-to-25 yards out that made me nervous,” he continued. “But Stevee comes down with it and makes it look easy. So having her in there is such a confidence builder for our team when she’s making saves – and she makes a lot of saves.”
M-CHS senior and leading scorer Gabby Wolf finished off the scoring on the day with a shot from near midfield.
Wolf had missed a handful of opportunities throughout the contest, but her attempts were always close and there was a feeling that at some point she’d find the back of the net.
With two minutes left to play, Wolf sent a direct kick from 35-yards out over the Pagosa keeper’s head and into the top left corner of the goal, giving the Panthers their second and final goal in the 2-0 victory.
“Gabby can strike the ball 35-to-40 yards,” Ross said of the goal. “She had a good curve on the ball that got the keeper going one way and then it just fell into that back left corner. When she puts it on frame it’s a dangerous shot for any goalie.”
Snapping a thee-game skid with the 2-0 win, the Lady Panthers move to 3-4 on the season.
They will next host Fruita Monument on Friday and Montrose on Saturday, in a rematch of last weekend’s action.