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April 12, 2001
BY JIM THOMAS If the members of the Montezuma-Cortez High School girls varsity soccer team can remember what all the things they did right Tuesday afternoon, April 10, in their 3-1 win over Telluride then they should not have problems with Grand Junction High (5 p.m. Friday, April 13) and Central of Grand Junction (10 a.m. Saturday, April 14) at Norman Johnson Memorial Field. "We did a lot of things right," first-year MCHS head coach Monica Plewe said following the game. "The difference was is that we won the ball. They were first to the ball. We got a lot of good touches in the middle of the field. The through balls to our forwards were not out-of-control balls but true touches and that helped, too." It was a snowy, cold day. It snowed and hailed through much of the game but that didn’t seem to stop the Panthers. Cortez showed a lot of aggressiveness by going to the ball. Nikki Fuchs, who has spent much of this season and most of last season in the goalie crease, moved to the field while Emilie Lanier became the goalie. Fuchs took the first shot of the game for the Panthers after only 1 minute, 50 seconds. Her attempt was wide of the mark. But Telluride moved the ball back down field and took a shot at 2:54 mark. Lanier cleared the ball out. But the Miners came back again and attacked. The Miners pressed up Sydney Melzer booted it and slipped past Lanier on the right side for a goal with 8:15 gone in the first half. Telluride took several more shots but those missed. The Panthers came to life and started to keep the on the attacking half of the field. They pressured and took several passes. They made some nice cross passes. While most of their shots were too short or wide, they got opportunities. Carmelita Perez, who goes to Dolores High School, made one of those shots and Elise Stephens made another. Telluride got the ball down field for a shot at the 30:22 mark but it missed wide. The Miners made another shot but Lanier made a save. Telluride led 1-0 when the half ended. Cortez kept control of the ball and dominated played early in the second half. They took three more shots, but they all missed. At the 11:57 mark, Vanessa Benally tied the game when a high ball made it over the stretched out hands of the goalie. Telluride came right back and a strong shot hit the top of the cross bar and bounced away. A subsequent corner shot was cleared out. The Miners kept attacking, but Lanier saved several attempts. The Panthers took the offense. After Jennifer Siracusen and Marina Lippis took shots that both barely missed, Nicole Stephens scored when a slow roller slipped into the net at the 25 minute mark. Telluride had a chance when it finally got the ball into the Panthers’ defensive side, but could not get off a shot. The Panthers got a break-away. Elise Stephens showed patience in dribbling past several Telluride defenders and fired a shot into the net at 35:58. Lanier made a diving save at 36:43 and knocked the ball out of the way. The Panther defenders pulled back a little too far, but several went to pack the goal. Telluride took several shots but none found the net. The Panthers took two more shots by Carolyn Britton and Fuchs, but none found the goal. "Emilie did a really nice job at goalie. She was aggressive. I was so proud of her. It also was nice to have Nikki in the middle. It has been breaking my heart to play Nikki at goalie so far this year. She has such a nice touch and she is a good ballhandler," Plewe remarked. Cortez improved their record to 2-6 overall. After hosting GJHS and Central, the Panthers continue their eight-game homestand by hosting Ignacio on April 17. They host Pagosa Springs on April 21 and Durango on April 24 before heading back on the road for the final two games of the regular season at Montrose on April 27 and at Fruita-Monument April 28. |
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal.
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