The Dowagiac soccer team finished the regular season with a bang as a 30-yard direct kick from junior Kelsey Bannow was mishandled and then pounced on by classmate Lauren Krueger for a Chieftain goal with 3:02 left on the scoreboard.

Paw Paw (12-3-1, 6-3) had already scored four goals though and were victorious in the Wolverine Conference contest by a 4-1 margin with Dowagiac (8-7, 2-5) sitting for over a week before playing again in the district that they are hosting.

Even though the Chiefs were outshot 10-2 in the first half, the only blemish came when Redskin junior Taylor Underhill intercepted a Dowagiac pass past midfield and then dribbled wide open to the 20 yard spot to kick a perfectly placed ball in the left corner of the net to give Paw Paw the advantage it would not relinquish.

“All her (Taylor Underhill) skill, as a coach, you cannot teach those kind of goals,” Paw Paw coach Brian Clements commented about her prize player. “She has 16 or 17 goals this year and have moved her around quite a bit to protect injuries.”

Dowagiac junior goal keeper Alyssa Fritz collected five saves in the first half, but the cross bar neglected another goal with 15 seconds left before intermission.

“Paw Paw counter attacked very well, which is something we didn’t do hardly at all,” stated Dowagiac coach Mike Williams. “We need to win more balls, since they outworked us which is what it came down to.”

It took just under two minutes for the visitors to dent the net in the second half with juniors Elena Olivares and Desi Humphrey connecting on a well-designed pass play with the former getting credit for the goal.

A corner kick midway through the half resulted in the next scoring play for Paw Paw as sophomore Jaime Packer found the ball at her feet in front of Fritz after it rolled through a maize of other athletes.

The final Paw Paw tally occurred three minutes before the Krueger blast when Olivares found sophomore Amanda Richardson alone for an easy kick for a point.

“They capitalized by attacking well, but we gave a lot of space by not covering our marks,” noted Williams.

Fritz made eight saves for Dowagiac on 21 shots with junior Natalie Kmet making a trio of stops for Paw Paw facing five potential goals. Paw Paw also had six corner kicks in the second half as each team had a pair before halftime.

“Every game we focus on what we can do well, which I am happy with and this weather is nice as it is about time we played on a warm day,” explained Clements. “Dowagiac is a good team that plays hard and physical — will probably play them again in the district.”

Dowagiac will host the district next week and received a bye in the first round before facing the winner of the game between Brandywine and Comstock.

“Hopefully, by district time we can compete better, but I was happy with our draw even though we split between the two teams we would play first,” concluded Williams. “We have over a week to heal our wounds (which are several) and work on getting our counter attacks back.”

Playing in her final Wolverine Conference game was Dowagiac’s only senior Sami Mathews, who will become a Wolverine in the fall when she enrolls at the University of Michigan.

Scoring Summary

First Half

PP – Taylor Underhill 24th minute

Shots: Dowagiac 2, Paw Paw 10

Saves: Alyssa Fritz (D) 5, Natalie Kmet (PP) 2

Corner kicks: Dowagiac 2, Paw Paw 2

Second Half

PP – Elena Olivares assist Desi Humphrey 42nd minute

PP – Jaime Packer 61st minute

PP – Amanda Richardson assist Olivares 74th minute

D – Lauren Krueger 77th minute

Shots: Dowagiac 3 (5), Paw Paw 11 (21)

Saves: Fritz 3 (8), Kmet 1 (3)

Corner kicks: Dowagiac 0 (2), Paw Paw 6 (8)

Varsity records: Paw Paw 12-3-1, 6-3 Wolverine; Dowagiac 8-7, 2-5 Wolverine