WC falls to South Spencer

Todd Lancaster, Washington Times-Herald, Ind.
·3 min read

Sep. 19—The Washington Catholic Lady Cardinals (2-3-2) fell short against the South Spencer Lady Rebels on Saturday. The Lady Cards played hard and had opportunities to tie and take the lead, but the Lady Rebels held on for the 2-1 victory.

The Lady Rebels wasted no time to start the scoring. In the first minute of action, the Lady Rebels worked the ball up the right sideline before playing a cross in front of the WC goal. The Lady Rebels attacked a rebound off the WC defense and netted the first goal of the game. Washington Catholic quickly turned the intensity and the attack towards the South Spencer goal, creating scoring opportunities up the sidelines. Seniors Maritza Villagran, Mya Cline, and Ella Grissom all recorded shots on goal in the first half. Senior Maggie Lee, junior Rosie Serrano, and freshman Angela Santiago controlled the midfield and looked to distribute the ball up for the WC attack. The Lady Cardinals were not able to connect for a score in the first half, but the WC defense was stout and limited the chances for the Lady Rebels for the remainder of the half.

"We played a solid first half of soccer, minus the first minute of the game," WC Coach Austin Deem said. "Our defense really played well with Brynna Hunter, Molly Brown, Audrey Jerger, Hallie Plummer, and Celeste Santiago all putting in good minutes. They communicated and rotated their positions well. Addie Talbert had some fantastic stops at the goal line tonight and did a good job of coming off her line to meet the attack," Deem continued.

The balanced match continued into the second half with neither side willing to concede any easy looks at goal. Cline and Grissom continued to find small openings in the South Spencer defense, but couldn't find the back of the net.

The Lady Rebels would extend the lead to 2-0 midway through the second half. A quick counterattacking play by South Spencer saw the ball move up the right sideline. A high cross to the far post found an open Rebel attacker who volleyed a shot in for the score.

The final fifteen minutes of play saw continuous waves of attacks coming from WC. The Lady Cardinals finally found paydirt with five minutes left to play. Grissom collected a pass at centerfield, turned the ball up field, and fed a pass up to Cline. Cline gathered the ball and played a powerful, low shot into the right corner to set the score 2-1. Grissom and Cline nearly connected for a second score, but Cline's shot found the side post and was sent wide. The Lady Cardinals continued to press the attack, but time was not on their side and the final whistle blew.

The Lady Cardinals ramp up their schedule as the season begins to wind down as they will face WRV, Vincennes Rivet, Forest Park, and North Knox in the next week.