Vikings blanked by Lakeshore
Published 11:06 pm Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Niles' Ashley DeLand (16) tries to keep the ball from going out of bounds against Lakeshore Wednesday night. The Vikings were blanked by the Lancers 4-0 in a West Division match. (Daily Star photo/SCOTT NOVAK)
By SCOTT NOVAK
Niles Daily Star
For a half, the Niles soccer team felt pretty good about its performance against visiting area powerhouse Lakeshore.
Trailing just 1-0 and playing pretty well, the Vikings went into the final 40 minutes with a bit of confidence against the Lancers.
But back-to-back goals in the 46th and 48th minutes erased all that.
Niles gave up three goals in the second half and ended up on the wrong end of a 4-0 Big 16 Conference West Division decision.
“There have been a lot of teams that have come in here and we have played a strong first half,” Niles coach Jo Schau said. “Then in the second half we teetered. Coming off halftime it’s a great high, it’s wonderful, but there is always that second half of soccer. Just getting the girls to realize there are two pages to that book, the right and the left side. If we can put that combination together, I think we will be a better team and better contender in our area.”
Anika Johnson opened the scoring for the Lancers just two minutes into the match.
But after that, the Vikings settled down and played a strong final 38 minutes of the opening half.
The second half was a bit of a different story.
Christy Song made it 2-0 in the 46th minute and Carly Bennethum’s goal in the 48th minute turned a 1-0 advantage into a three-goal lead for the Lancers.
Then Niles settled down once again and played well until the closing minute of the match when Johnson got loose again and scored the final goal of the night.
Lakeshore held a 10-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Niles’ keeper Katie Butler played the first half and several minutes into the second half before being relieved by Sarah Smith.
The two combined to stop eight shots
.
Lakeshore’s Emily LaManna faced just three shots, stopping all of them.
Niles is now off until next Monday evening when it hosts Bangor in a non-conference match.
Lakeshore…4
Niles…0
Halftime score
Lakeshore 1, Niles 0
First half
L – Anika Johnson 2nd minute
Second half
L – Christy Song 46th minute
L – Carly Bennethum 48th minute
L – Johnson 79th minute
Shots on goal
Lakeshore 10
Niles 3
Saves
Lakeshore 3 (Emily LaManna)
Niles 8 (Katie Butler, Sarah Smith)
