By DON EDEN
Dowagiac Daily News

Battles are not uncommon in soccer between Dowagiac and Edwardsburg with the visiting Lady Eddies winning the war 2-0 Tuesday in a Division 3 District contest.

Senior Ashlyn Chambers shot down the Lady Chiefs with both tallies.

“Chambers (Ashlyn) is scrappy and they may not be the prettiest goals, but they all count as the girls got together to not be denied in the district,” stated Edwardsburg coach Ryan Rosenkranz. “Dowagiac won our tournament this year and will always play hard and physical so we had to come out with passion as revenge will always be a factor for both teams.”

Chambers capitalized quickly with just over four minutes gone when classmate Leslie Boyles fired a missile through senior Jo Jo Pickar’s hands to hit the far post where the ball bounced to the opportunist waiting to pounce.

“Edwardsburg played much hungrier than us in the first 20 minutes as a couple mistakes on marks cost us the game,” noted Dowagiac coach Mike Williams. “Our effort has a lot to do with both scores and as a team we didn’t play one of our best games.”

Williams’ sophomore daughter Bre had a chance for the equalizer with 19 minutes left in the first half as her shot hit the top of the post and flew back into the middle of the field away from danger.

A corner kick with 13:41 showing on the scoreboard by junior Aly Mooth went in front of the net where Chambers again found pay dirt past Pickar.

“On corner kicks I want dangerous balls where anybody anyhow can score and Aly (Mooth) does a good job which is what we want,” remarked Rosenkranz. “We are playing our best soccer at the best time of the year.”

Each team had nine shots at intermission with Edwardsburg leading by a 3-2 margin on corner kicks.

The second half was a defensive battle as neither team got a scoring chance to threaten the scoreboard.

“Fresh legs are important with the weather getting hotter and almost every one of the 24 girls got to play and contribute,” said Rosenkranz. The Eddies will now face Lakeland Conference rival Buchanan on Thursday at Paw Paw with a 6:45 p.m. scheduled starting time.

Dowagiac out shot Edwardsburg 13-9 in the second half and reversed the corner kick advantage from the first half.

“It is always tough to lose seniors and these were a good group of leaders that helped us get better each year,” concluded Williams.  “Our future looks good though as our corps of players are sophomores and will be good if they play travel this summer and fall.”

Scoring Summary
First Half
Ashlyn Chambers (ED) 5th minute
Chambers (ED) 27th minute Aly Mooth assist
Shots: Dowagiac 9; Edwardsburg 9
Saves: Jo Jo Pickar (DOW) 4; Brittany Hurst (ED) 3
Corner Kicks: Dowagiac 2; Edwardsburg 3

Second Half
None
Shots: Dowagiac 13 (22); Edwardsburg 9 (18)
Saves: Pickar 5 (9); Hurst 6 (9)
Corner Kicks: Dowagiac 3 (5); Edwardsburg 2 (5)

Varsity records
Dowagiac 5-9-1; Edwardsburg 11-6-1