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Kelsey Meece, center, of Lincoln County slips between Hannah Sparks, left, and Sarah Price of Garrard County to kick the ball during the second half of Lincoln's 2-0 victory Tuesday. (Mike Marsee / September 12, 2012) |
STANFORD — The Lincoln County girls may not be displaying the offensive firepower they showed early in the season, but they’re still getting along just fine.
The Patriots continued a recent trend of low-scoring games Tuesday against Garrard County, but they controlled the ball throughout the game and played nearly airtight defense.
As a result, two first-half goals were enough to give them a 2-0 win and that extended their recent roll.
So while host Lincoln didn’t light up the scoreboard, it did more than enough to win its third straight game and extend its unbeaten streak to seven games.
“We just couldn’t get the ball in the goal,” Lincoln coach Andrew Kaiser said. “I thought the girls played real hard. We controlled the field. We just couldn’t get it in.”
And in this game, it wasn’t because the Patriots (9-2-1, 2-0 45th District) lacked for chances. They outshot Garrard 34-1, and nearly half of those shots were on net.
Lincoln was missing two starters — forward Rachel Spangler was serving the second game of a two-game suspension and midfielder Michaela Sebastian was ill — but Kaiser said their teammates did a good job of picking up the slack, even if the score didn’t reflect that.
“I thought the other team played well ... and their goalkeeper played real well,” Kaiser said.
Garrard coach Kevin Floyd agreed — to a point. He said the Golden Lions (1-7, 0-1) played well on defense but couldn’t maintain
“We’re just not controlling the ball and struggling to play as a team. It’s aggravating,” Floyd said. “The defense held up good, but we did not get the ball in our half of the field much in the second half. The first half we did much better.”
Kristen Meece scored Lincoln’s first goal in the 25th minute, pouncing on the ball after a shot by teammate Misty Simpson was knocked away by Garrard goalkeeper Kendra Rich.
The first half was extended by about 10 minutes due to an injury to a Garrard player, and Lincoln’s Macy Kaiser scored just over 5 minutes into extra time, firing a bomb from nearly 30 yards out than went over Rich’s head.
Rich had 11 saves for Garrard, and Lincoln’s Jerrica Kidd saved the Lions’ lone shot in the second half.
Lincoln averaged 7.5 goals through its first eight games but has been held to two or less in three of its last four games, the exception being its 6-0 win at Danville on Thursday.
On the other hand, the Patriots have shut out three straight opponents and five of their last six, and they have seven shutout wins in all.
“We’re playing really good. We’re controlling it, doing a good job. We’re just having a hard time trying to get the goals,” Andrew Kaiser said. “It’ll come, as long as the girls are working together. There’s a lot of season left.”
The Patriots continued a recent trend of low-scoring games Tuesday against Garrard County, but they controlled the ball throughout the game and played nearly airtight defense.
As a result, two first-half goals were enough to give them a 2-0 win and that extended their recent roll.
So while host Lincoln didn’t light up the scoreboard, it did more than enough to win its third straight game and extend its unbeaten streak to seven games.
“We just couldn’t get the ball in the goal,” Lincoln coach Andrew Kaiser said. “I thought the girls played real hard. We controlled the field. We just couldn’t get it in.”
And in this game, it wasn’t because the Patriots (9-2-1, 2-0 45th District) lacked for chances. They outshot Garrard 34-1, and nearly half of those shots were on net.
Lincoln was missing two starters — forward Rachel Spangler was serving the second game of a two-game suspension and midfielder Michaela Sebastian was ill — but Kaiser said their teammates did a good job of picking up the slack, even if the score didn’t reflect that.
“I thought the other team played well ... and their goalkeeper played real well,” Kaiser said.
Garrard coach Kevin Floyd agreed — to a point. He said the Golden Lions (1-7, 0-1) played well on defense but couldn’t maintain
“We’re just not controlling the ball and struggling to play as a team. It’s aggravating,” Floyd said. “The defense held up good, but we did not get the ball in our half of the field much in the second half. The first half we did much better.”
Kristen Meece scored Lincoln’s first goal in the 25th minute, pouncing on the ball after a shot by teammate Misty Simpson was knocked away by Garrard goalkeeper Kendra Rich.
The first half was extended by about 10 minutes due to an injury to a Garrard player, and Lincoln’s Macy Kaiser scored just over 5 minutes into extra time, firing a bomb from nearly 30 yards out than went over Rich’s head.
Rich had 11 saves for Garrard, and Lincoln’s Jerrica Kidd saved the Lions’ lone shot in the second half.
Lincoln averaged 7.5 goals through its first eight games but has been held to two or less in three of its last four games, the exception being its 6-0 win at Danville on Thursday.
On the other hand, the Patriots have shut out three straight opponents and five of their last six, and they have seven shutout wins in all.
“We’re playing really good. We’re controlling it, doing a good job. We’re just having a hard time trying to get the goals,” Andrew Kaiser said. “It’ll come, as long as the girls are working together. There’s a lot of season left.”
