Ark Valley News - Hornets enter league play on winning streak

Sophomore defender Jadyn Eddy dribbles through a pack of Campus players March 9. Valley Center got the 10-0 shutout.

Hornets enter league play on winning streak
By Taylor Messick
Last Updated: April 16, 2015

The Valley Center High School soccer team has been unstoppable since losing a tight season-opener on the road against a tough Newton squad. Over the past couple games, the Hornets have kept the ball rolling by tallying two more impressive wins over Campus and Hutchinson.

On March 9, the Hornets traveled to Campus for a game that was moved up from the previously scheduled date of March 14. The Colts have struggled to win games — and put points on the board — so far this season. That lack of success continued for Campus against the Hornets in a 10-0 shutout.

Though this wasn't the toughest opponent the girls have faced, the final score is a good indicator of the impressive performance by the Hornets. The effort was well-rounded, as seven different players were able to find the back of the net. Coach Steen Danielsen was pleased with his team's performance in the match.

"The girls played great possession soccer," said Danielsen. "They built up great attacks. The game gave us a good opportunity to tune-up. Our attacks were what we needed to practice on and we got to address a few issues we were having as a team and I think they fixed those during that game. We were clicking all over the field."

The Hornets had no trouble penetrating and scoring inside the box in the first half, as four of the five goals came from within 16 feet. Junior forward Kennedy Weaver got things going for the girls, taking the ball t through the Campus defense and scoring the first two goals inside of five feet. Senior midfielder Abbie Lawrence followed suit with a goal of her own right before Weaver capped off a first half hat trick. The final goal of the half came when sophomore midfielder Sammy Boese hit a shot off an assist by freshman midfielder Emma Girtz.

After taking a 5-0 lead, the girls came out in the second half ready to lengthen their attack and do their damage from outside the box. Girtz scored the first goal from 55 feet, and that was the closest goal scored by the Hornets in the half. Sophomore forward Mikayla Vega scored the next goal before setting up Weaver's fourth goal of the evening. Sammy Boese had the next assist to sophomore midfielder Ariel Wolff.

Danielsen used the lopsided scoreboard as an opportunity to get some of his freshmen and junior varsity players extended time on the field, and it worked in his favor as the girls played good soccer and found success. Freshman midfielder Rachel Binau came up with the final goal of the game — an impressive 79-footer — during the final minute of the contest.

On March 14, the Hornets visited Hutchinson to face a much more competitive Salthawks team. The girls came away with a 4-2 victory, but it wasn't an easy win by any means. The Hornets controlled possession through most of the contest, but there were times when Hutch looked to be in control of the ball and the defense struggled to regain possession. Danielsen related this to the Hornets getting beat in the middle of the field.

"Our team would build and attack from the defense all the way to the back," he said. "Hutch did a fantastic job of winning the ball in the midfield and then delivering a threatening ball and catching our defense on the run. We need to play defense to where they can't deliver those threatening balls and we stuff them out before they even happen."

The first goal of the game was scored by the Salthawks in rather controversial fashion. The action started as sophomore goalkeeper Bethany Reeves, who was previously out with an ankle injury, deflected a shot. As the ball bounced off her hands towards the net, Reeves dove on the ball just as a Hutchinson player leapt in to make a play on it. Reeves was inadvertently kicked in the face in a scary moment as the player also grazed the ball just enough to tap it into the net. Danielsen questioned whether a foul should have been called.

"I'm not gonna say Hutch didn't deserve the goal," he said. "It was a hustle goal; if that happened on my team I would be saying it was a goal. I do think the girls felt ticked-off because of the collision but they turned it on after that and Kennedy went on a rampage."

Danielsen doesn't exaggerate when he says that, either. For the second straight game, Weaver scored four goals. This time it was four unanswered, with assists from Vega, Girtz and Ariel Wolff. Weaver has been fantastic this season, after missing her entire sophomore year with knee surgery.

"Kennedy is a threat," said Danielsen. "But realistically our whole team is a threat and any given night someone could be in that situation. Those goals wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for her teammates giving good assists to set her up."

Hutch wasn't able to score again until late in the second half, but their ability to possess the ball and move into scoring position throughout the game kept them closer to the Hornets than the score might indicate. Danielsen displayed a lot of respect for the way his opponents played.

"That very easily could've very easily been Hutch 4-2," he said. "They were good. The ball just rolled in our favor, but that's soccer sometimes."

The Hornets are now 5-1 as they get ready to kick off league play at home against Andover Central on Monday, April 20. The game has been moved forward a day from its original date.

Junior varsity — The JV girls came up with a couple more wins, as well, in some close matches. The girls beat Campus 2-0 with goals from freshmen Hayleigh Jensen and Alexis Wolff.

In the Hutchinson game, the Hornets came up with a 3-0 victory. The first goal was scored by sophomore Taylor Weems, the second came from freshman Alexis Wolff and the last goal was scored by freshman Kayla Blackwood.

The JV girls move to 4-1-1 to start league play.