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April 17, 2001
BY JIM THOMAS They suffered two heartbreaking losses over the weekend, losing 0-2 to Grand Junction High Friday afternoon, April 13, and then falling 1-3 to Central of Grand Junction Saturday morning, April 14, in girls soccer action at Norman Johnson Memorial Field. Although the losses were hard to take, Montezuma-Cortez High School first-year head coach Monica Plewe saw some good things. "We played excellent over the weekend," she said Saturday morning. "We had a lot of passing strings. We talked on the field. The girls played aggressively. We did a lot of running to the ball." The Tigers took a 1-0 lead late in the first half (34 minutes, 22 seconds) when Lauren Sel scored a goal. That’s the way the score would remain until with 9:17 to go in the game they got their second goal, this time by Kerri Leech. Although the Tigers controlled the ball through much of the game in the center of the field, they did manage to the get the ball into the attacking half of the field. But the Panther defense still should be credited with doing a good job. Grand Junction High took 24 shots on goal with Emilie Lanier making 22 saves. The Panthers did have some troubles on offense but they still managed 12 shots on goal, although a couple were marginal attempts at best. At some points in the game play got rough. Three yellow cards were handed out in the game (two to GJHS players and one to a Panther). The Panthers then hosted Central the next morning. Lanier moved into the field while freshman Andrea Jensen moved into the net. The Warriors scored quickly with 1:44 on the clock. They got a corner kick which was a nice shot in front of the net, then Kate Stone kicked it through. The Warriors continued to dominate play during the early goings. Rebekah Huff got a breakaway and scored at the 9:01 mark. Cortez finally got its offense moving. Tammy Henry made a shot and then Lanier tried at the 12:20 mark. But the Warriors came right back. Nikki Koloff made a nice shot straight into the goal for a 0-3 lead at 13:25. Central continued to put the pressure on the Panther defenders. Koloff and Huff made a couple nice attempts but they missed the mark. Central continue to keep control of the ball and took a couple more shots. Finally, just before the half, the Panthers moved the ball down field. Elise Stephens was a little bit impatient and shot early. The ball was short of the net at 38:00. The Panthers, who had trouble winning the ball all day, allowed Central to dominate play early. The Panthers did get a shot off when Henry got a breakaway but the went way wide. The Warriors made several attempts but they missed wide. Huff barely missed making a header, but it sailed over the top of the bar at the 53:20 mark. Central continued to dominate play until the 60:00 mark. Cortez finally started playing better. They got four straight shots off and kept the ball in the attacking half of the field. They got a corner kick. The ball was hit right in front and Jennifer Siracusen slipped the ball past the goalie in the far corner of the goal at the 79:21 mark. Cortez got the ball back and took a couple more shots. The Panthes continued to play well unitl right up to the end of the game. Henry got one last shot off at with 35 seconds remaining. Her teammates, though, didn’t give her much support at that time and time expired. "I thought our defense was very good," Plewe said following the game. "We played another excellent game. But I wish wouldn’t give up a goal so early in the game like we have been doing all season. We have got to learn to come out and play hard for 80 minutes." The Panthers, 2-8 overall, continue their long homestand. They host Ignacio at 3 p.m. today, April 17, and then host Pagosa Springs at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 21. They play one more game at home on April 24 when Durango comes to town. Their final two regular-season games are on the road at Montrose and Fruita-Monument, April 27-28, respectively. |
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal.
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