Last Thursday, April 12, during the JV Women’s soccer game, each half told a different story.
In the first 35 minutes of the game, no team gave up a goal. The ball moved back and forth across the field, but thanks to Morgan Brockman, starting goalie, the Pride did not allow a goal in the first half.
Leesville had a reasonable number of scoring opportunities, including a corner kick, but Gibbons starting goalie performed a shutout in the first half as well.
However, Leesville, when on the attack, played no less than aggressive. Shot after shot, Leesville took advantage of every chance they received with the ball in their possession.
Leesville fans kept their energy up when two potential goals could have given the Pride a 2-0 lead by halftime, but both were too high and over the crossbar.
Exhausted, the Pride stepped off the field at the intermission. The goalies switched during halftime, as second half goalie Emma Roth prepared to enter the game.
As the second half began, the momentum quickly shifted over to the Cardinal Gibbons Musketeers. As the first ten minutes passed in the half, Gibbons went through the Leesville defense.
In less than two minutes, Cardinal Gibbons scored back-to-back goals, as their final and eventual game winning goal scored with over 26 minutes on the clock.
“We didn’t connect passes, communicate or win the 50/50 balls, which are vital to a strong team,” said Megan Alcock, sophomore and midfielder for the Pride.
Though the team was not expecting the sudden outburst of offense by the Musketeers, the Pride did not give up the rest of the game. Stephanie Talbott, forward, scored Leesville’s only goal with just over 22 minutes in the second half.
“We were way too casual and relaxed on the field. They wanted it more than us and it showed,” said Alcock.
However, Leesville could not recover from the onslaught of goals previously scored. Though opportunities through corner kicks and potential goals gave Leesville multiple chances, the ball could not get in the net by the end of the game. The game ended with a final score of Cardinal Gibbons 2 and Leesville 1.
