APRIL 2, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A21
SPORTS
Isabella Walker (3) heads the ball to a cutting teammate.
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
Celts rally falls just short against Sprague
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Facing a 3-1 deficit at the start of the
second half against Sprague, the McNary
girls' soccer squad got a pair of goals
from sophomore forward Sydnee Alfano
to tie up the score. But the rally fell short
as the Olympians were able to score a
controversial goal in the 67th minute to
propel themselves to a 4-3 victory over
the Celtics.
The Sprague attack got numerous
opportunities early in the game. McNary
goalkeeper Hannah Ferguson stopped
three shots in the first 10 minutes, but
the Olys got one through in the 16th min-
ute when Aspen DeConcini raced by the
entire Celtics back line to score the first
of her three goals.
McNary,
however,
responded
moments later when Tessa Fisher found
a soft spot in the Sprague defense and
fired a rocket into the top-right corner of
S ccer
the net for the goal. But DeConcini got
by the McNary defense to score again
less than a minute later.
With 25 seconds left in the first half,
Sprague was awarded a corner kick,
which was placed near the front edge
of the box by McKenzie Wernicke.
Ferguson got her hands on the kick, but
the ball trickled off her gloves and went
right to DeConcini who put in the easy
goal to give her squad the two-score lead
going into the break.
Despite the deficit, the Celtics looked
like a whole new team at the start of the
second half.
“We really picked it up in the second
half,” Alfano said. “We worked together
really well.”
At the 50-minute mark, McNary mid-
fielder Kennedy Buss launched a 50-yard
free kick into the middle of the box. With
the keeper out of position, Alfano was
able to get a touch at point-blank range
to get the ball across the plane for the
goal.
“I kind of just threw my body in front
of it and it got in there,” Alfano said.
Just seven minutes later, Alfano
struck again to tie the game.
After getting past a double-team,
Alfano tightroped the sideline without
stepping out-of-bounds, giving herself
some separation from the defense, then
fired a shot aimed at the top of the post
from about 30 yards away. The Sprague
keeper tried to elevate for the save, but
the ball glanced off her hands and into
the back of the net.
“Sydnee is an amazing player. She
has the confidence to take those shots
because she is super dangerous,” McNary
head coach Lauren Brouse said. “Her just
getting the ball on her foot and looking
for those opportunities to shoot really
made the difference in the second half.”
“I just did this move where I cut in on
the sideline and I just got a really good
shot off,” Alfano added.
Along with creating more opportu-
nities on the offensive end, the Celtics
tightened things up on the defensive
side.
“Sprague loves to throw people for-
ward and switch on their runs a ton, so
the key was talking and doing a better
job of passing those girls on, instead of
trying to follow them and getting out of
position,” Brouse said.
Senior Caitlin Huffman took over
the goalkeeping duties in the second
half for the Celtics and stopped several
shots in her first 25 minutes in the net.
But Sprague was barely able to get the
go-ahead goal past her with 13 minutes
remaining.
Wernicke created some space for her-
self in the middle of the field and kicked
a shot aimed at the left post. Huffman
appeared to have made a diving stop,
but the ball slipped out of her hands and
matriculated a few inches towards the
net.
While laying on the ground, Huffman
reached out and retrieved the ball and
looked to pass it to a teammate. Initially,
there was no whistle to signal that a
goal had been scored. But after multiple
Sprague players pleaded with the head
official, the referees determined that
the ball did cross the goal line and gave
Sprague credit for the goal.
McNary had a chance to tie in the
final four minutes when Karla Rodriguez
found Alfano with a cross-field pass, but
Alfano was unable to get a good touch on
the ball and her shot sailed right of the
net.
Despite the defeat, Brouse said she
was pleased with the way her girls played
in the second half.
“They are so coachable, so when we
could finally talk to them at halftime and
tell them what they needed to do, they
went out and did it,” Brouse said.