(Story by Coach Lance Harvey)

     The Chillicothe lady’s soccer team scored its first win of the young 2012 season with a 3-0 defeat of St. Paul Lutheran High School in Concordia. The Hornets opened up the scoring in the 11th minute when freshman forward Lindy Saunders settled a pass from Cyrsten Lollar in front of the goal and buried a hard, low shot past the diving goalkeeper. The ladies continued to control the offensive tempo throughout the rest of the half, creating several scoring opportunities. Their work culminated with five minutes left in the half when senior stopper Kylie Barton hit a shot from forty yards out that was mishandled by the keeper and trickled across the goal line to make the score 2-0.
     The second half saw the defense continue to stifle the Saints despite playing into a stiff wind. Led by senior Hope Peters and junior Carley Anderson, the Chillicothe “D” held St. Paul to no shots on goal. Saunders added to her scoring total one minute into the half when she beat two defenders and finished with another hard shot into the back of the net.
     Coaches Lance Harvey and Mark Dujmovic noted that the play of midfielders Brooke Thomas, Laura Turner and Leslee Moore was a huge key to getting the ball forward and creating opportunities for the forwards. Another bright spot was the play of goalkeeper Brooke Jettleson who recorded a shut- out in her first outing as a starter.
     “The key to this game was the play of our substitutes. Coach and I are able to get fresh legs into the game without feeling as though we have any fall off in our level of play,” stated Harvey. “Today was a great game for our confidence and as an indicator of our ability to improve as the season progresses.”