The top-ranked girls soccer team in Class 6A, Blue Valley West, certainly proved its lofty ranking Tuesday night against Emporia High, as the Lady Jaguars out-ran the Lady Spartans to take the 3-0 victory.
It was clear from the beginning that West had the speed advantage, routinely out-running Emporia defenders to loose balls and never letting an EHS offensive attack go uncontested.
“In high school girls soccer, if you can play fast and get the other team out of their comfort zone, then you’re going to have a positive game,” EHS coach John Decker said. “When you have it (speed) all over the field like that, they wear you out physically and mentally.”
As such, the Lady Spartans (2-2) spent much of the night on defense, so much so that running offense was quickly relegated to an afterthought.
“Myself, I was a little timid to go up on offense,” EHS captain Kylee McCullough said. “Instead, I had to come back and sprint back and be on defense right away. I think we struggled transitioning from defense to offense.
“We basically had to play all 11 players on defense.”
Blue Valley West got the scoring started in the 7th minute when EHS goalkeeper Melanie Nuessen came away from the net to grab a loose ball, but West’s Caitlyn Becker got to it first.
Nuessen dived for the ball but instead only tipped it away momentarily, which gave Becker room to tap in a shot into the left corner to put the Lady Jaguars ahead, 1-0.
That would be the halftime score, as Emporia played solid defense after that but never really threatened on offense.
Still, going into halftime down one was not all bad in the minds of the EHS coaches and players.
“As a coach, I hate 1-0 leads because when you have it, if the other team can score, mentally, it’s very tough,” Decker said. “We wanted to keep the score low.”
However, Emporia’s offensive frustrations continued in the second half, as the Lady Spartans managed just four shots on goal for the entire game compared to West’s 21.
West’s frantic pace and superior speed eventually wore down the Lady Spartans, as the Lady Jaguars scored goals in the 47th and 71st minutes to put the game out of reach.
Though disappointed with the outcome, McCullough said playing against the top team in Class 6A showed the Lady Spartans what they needed to improve upon.
“We played well as a team; we talked well,” McCullough said. “This game tested our goalie and our offense and defense and midfield. I think we’ve got a lot of stuff to work on at practice ... but I think that motivates us to be that much better.”
Blue Valley West 3, EHS 0
Tuesday at TRYSA
Blue Valley West 1 2 — 3
Emporia 0 0 — 0
First Half
BVW — Becker (unassisted), 7:00
Second Half
BVW — Jackson (assist from Morris), 47:00
BVW — Catrell (unassisted), 71:00
Shots on goal — BVW 21, Emporia 4. Saves — BVW: Gosha 4. Emporia: Nuessen 18. Corner kicks — BVW 5, Emporia 0. Total fouls — BVW 11, Emporia 9. Yellow cards — BVW: Linsin. Emporia: McCullough.