A solid performance by the Lady Pioneers on Tuesday fell
short as the Crusaders from Maranatha edged out a 4-2 victory. Junior forward
Karis Rogers rose to the occasion, scoring all three of Maranatha’s second-half
goals in a three minute span to help seal the win.
The opening minutes of play were physical and
aggressive. Northland set the pace of play with a goal from
Nicole Wung in the ninth minute off a perfect corner kick by Heather Thompson. Against the run of play, Maranatha's Katie Foy scored in the twenty-fourth minute to tie the score at one goal
apiece. The rest of the game was a defensive battle to see who would yield
first. Both teams played aggressively through the midfield, each refusing
to let the attack build. The score remained tied going into the half.
The second half continued the relentless play as neither team
would allow clean attempts at goal, until the sixty-third minute
when Northland striker Kate Matthai bent in a free kick from just
outside the box, giving Northland the lead once again. The Crusaders
responded just two minutes later, however, when Karis Rogers’ shot deflected off a Northland defender and trickled into the goal. That goal
proved to be the turning point in the game as Rogers scored two more goals
in the following three minutes (sixty-sixth and sixty-eighth). “Speed kills, and that’s exactly
what happened to us during those three minutes. Rogers proved why she is so
dangerous. Eighty-seven minutes of this game were played evenly, I thought, but this goes
to show that you can’t switch off for a second in this game, especially with
such a gifted player on the other team,” said Coach Chatfield. Not only did
Rogers score three goals, she scored all three within three minutes in a rivalry
game, all while setting her school record for career goals. Congratulations to
Miss Karis Rogers for a truly remarkable performance. Coach Chatfield also
lauded the performance of Nicole Wung, Kristy Maholic, and Jami Beiler for the
Lady Pioneers.
The game was even in every statistical category: MBBC
outshot Northland 12-10, each keeper collected five saves, and each team
had two corner kicks. The stage has officially been set for a dog fight in the
Midwest Regional Tournament as both teams are vying for a trip to the National
Tournament in Kissimmee, Florida, in November.
Northland will get back to the training ground on Wednesday
in preparation for two games against Providence College this weekend. Both
games will be at home at 3:00 p.m. CST on Friday and on Saturday.