Newton girls cruise past rival Oskaloosa
Apr. 19—The Ross sisters were heavily involved in the Newton girls' soccer team's 7-0 win over Oskaloosa on Tuesday.
Aliviah Ross registered her first career hat trick, Addison Ross helped the Cardinal defense collect a third straight shutout and Newton stayed unbeaten in Little Hawkeye Conference play after the home win at H.A. Lynn Stadium.
"We are focusing on keeping our shape in practice," said Addison Ross, who is the only senior starter this season. "The defense is doing a really good job of staying connected. That helps a lot."
The Cardinals led 3-0 at halftime. Briana Shannon got things going with a goal in the 6th minute. Ross then put in the next two to give Newton a 3-0 lead at halftime.
Ross now has five goals in her first varsity season on the pitch.
"I didn't come into high school expecting to play varsity," Aliviah Ross said. "I just tried to work hard to get to where I am.
"We had good passes tonight, and we connected on our passes. We also didn't pass the ball to the other team very much."
Shannon and Aliviah Ross each added a goal in the second half. Shannon scored a little more than 2 minutes into the half and Ross completed the hat trick with a third goal in the 57th minute.
Newton took 18 shots and 13 corner kicks in the win.
"She should be proud of herself," Addison Ross said about her younger sister Aliviah. "She's having a good year so far."
Riley Plowman set up the Cardinals' final two goals. She took passes down the sideline and then centered the ball just in front of the net. Alex Riney and Callyn Doland were on the receiving end of the passes and each scored their first-ever varsity goals to push the margin to 7-0.
Riney's goal came one minute after Aliviah Ross' third goal and Doland put her shot past the Oskaloosa keeper six minutes later.
"It's a confidence booster for sure," Newton girls co-head coach Victoria Jordan said about the seven goals. "It should motivate them and tell them they can score goals and they can make the connections on their passes."
Since losing 9-0 to Class 1A No. 1 Des Moines Christian, the Cardinals (5-3-1 overall, 2-0-1 in the conference) have won three straight matches and all three were shutout victories. They've registered a shutout in four of their past five matches and the defense has five shutouts this season.
"I like how they communicate and work with each other," Jordan said about the defense "I really like that they started making those simple pass connections. I think they are learning when the right time to boot it and when it's not."
Shannon's nine goals lead the Cardinals and rank tied for 10th in Class 2A. Her 18 points also lead the team and are tied for 20th in 2A.
Natalee Freese finished with five saves in her 80 minutes in goal. She now has 63 saves this spring, which ranks eighth in 2A.
Notes: Doland and Abby Chance each dished out one assist in the win over Oskaloosa. ... Newton did not have varsity players Tori White or Brooklyn Shannon as both were with the track and field team in Ottumwa. ... The Indians fell to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in the LHC. They have scored just one goal this season. ... Newton went 2-0 in its home tournament last weekend. The Cardinals defeated both Perry and Des Moines Lincoln 2-0. In the win over Lincoln, Shannon scored both goals, and the Railsplitters took one shot.
