| Gering soccer teams split with Scottsbluff |
 2012-04-20 By Citizen Staff |
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 | Photo by Ken Kurtz/Spectrum Photo Gering junior Cassidy Cooper strides for a kick with Bearcat defender Megan Gealy close behind and teammate Shayla Garetto in the background. The Lady Bulldogs prevailed 1-0 in the rivalry match Monday night at Landers soccer field. | |
| SCOTTSBLUFF — There were only eight minutes left in the scoreless girls’ soccer match when Gering’s midfielder Kelsea Prieels kicked in the lone score to down Scottsbluff 1-0 at the Landers Soccer Complex on Monday. Gering was able to control its end of the field and held a 34-2 shot advantage over the Bearcats. But for Gering’s 34 shots on goal, only one of them found the back of the net. The Lady Bearcats brought a strong defense as Gering tried a flurry of shots toward the end of the first half. Every one of them went high or wide, or was stopped by Scottsbluff goalkeeper Morgan Westphal. The second half was a repeat of the first until Prieels, a sophomore, intercepted a Scottsbluff pass about 35 feet out and took a shot at the net. With a 1-0 lead, Gering had two more prime chances to score, but one hit the upper post and Westphal stopped another shot from inside the box. Westphal ended the match with 15 saves. Maggie Martin, Gering’s goalkeeper, had one save when Scottsbluff took a shot with about four minutes to play. “We were disappointed about the loss but we’ve really improved as a team,” said Scottsbluff coach Chad Larson. “Gering has so many weapons we can’t just guard one person. To come out with a 1-0 loss is frustrating, but a lot better than the last time Gering beat us 7-0.” Scottsbluff has five more games to play before the district tournament, including a rematch against Gering on April 23. “We’re trying to improve on the little things,” Larson said. “We have a pretty young squad and we’re still fine tuning. That will hopefully make us better.” Boys Soccer Meanwhile, the Gering boys’ soccer team was blanked by Scottsbluff 2-0. The win was the Bearcats’ third in a row as they evened up their season against the Bulldogs at 1-1. Scottsbluff’s record now stands at 6-8, while Gering fell to 7-8. The match was scoreless going into the second half, but Scottsbluff didn’t waste any time to get its first point three minutes in. Scottsbluff’s Jed Weis found Randy Wentz open on the left side for the score. For the rest of the match, Gering had some opportunities to score but were never able to find the back of the net. The Bearcats’ Weis scored the final goal with just 30 seconds to play. Scottsbluff coach Nate Rock said they had success in playing the type of game they wanted to play. Also, it’s always a tough game when rivals play. Gering coach Justin Clark said it was a disappointing loss, but the team played well. “The kids played with a lot of character and passion and desire. They worked really hard but we just couldn’t play to the results we wanted.” The rubber match for Gering and Scottsbluff will be played Monday, April 23, followed by Laramie on April 28. District play begins on April 30. “We going to work on improving until we go into districts,” Clark said. “We missed some opportunities against Scottsbluff and we’re going to improve on those and stay solid and stay healthy.” | ||
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