MANSFIELD – Mansfield St. Peter’s scored only three goals in 240 minutes of girls’ soccer this season against Mansfield Christian.
Fortunately for the Lady Spartans, it was enough to earn a trio of 1-0 victories against the Lady Flames, the latest and final coming Tuesday night in a Division III sectional tournament game.
The win at St. Peter’s Pat Curran Field advances the Lady Spartans (11-4-2) to the next round, a clash at Liberty-Benton (7-4-4) against the Eagles on their home pitch Saturday at noon.
“Liberty-Benton got the No. 2 seed in the district and we chose to go in their bracket,” St. Peter’s coach Jeremy Yeager said. “They knocked a good Mansfield Christian team out in the district last year and made it to the regional finals. We look forward to the challenge.”
The loss ended the season for a young and inexperienced Mansfield Christian squad with a 4-5-1 record. The Lady Flames lost 12 members from last year’s district finalist team.
“We only had six returning players and just two starters,” MCS coach Jammi McClead said. “We had several players who had never played the game until August. So I am pleased we went from that point to playing hard in this match tonight.”
One Goal Enough: St. Peter’s scored its lone goal on a cornerkick with 11:06 in the first half. Sophomore Emily Yeager lofted a perfect serve and junior McKenna Crutchfield knocked it home.
“I told the girls yesterday it’s never easy to beat a team three times in one season,” Yeager said, “especially against Mansfield Christian. They are a tough team. They defend well. They move the ball well.
“Emily serves the ball on our corners and direct kicks. McKenna ran to the back post and it was there. We spent a lot of time in practice on our corner kicks and it was nice to see it pay off.”
McClead said it’s the first “good” goal the Lady Flames allowed against the Lady Spartans this season. “The other two came on defensive breakdowns. It’s tough to defend set pieces. I am happy we defended the other 79 minutes and didn’t allow any goals during the run of the game. I can’t be too upset about that.”
Strong Defense: St. Peter’s defense smothered the Mansfield Christian attack throughout the match, which was played in a steady, cold rain. The Lady Flames never got a shot on goal and never earned a single corner kick. St. Peter’s had four shots on goal and five corner kicks, scoring on the fourth.
The defense became even stingier midway through the second half when St. Peter’s pulled more defenders back and left just a single striker out top.
“It makes it very tough to make a run (against that many defenders). It cuts down the field and the pitch gets very congested quickly,” McClead said, refusing to blame the rain for a lack of offense. “It’s a non-factor. It’s soccer. We could have been playing in sleet and snow (this time of year).”
Busy Sophomore: Emily Yeager was busy all over the field for the Lady Spartans, helping to control the ball in midfield, handling corners and direct kicks and then defending late in the game. She even earned the game’s only yellow card when she pulled down a Lady Flame player.
“Emily is very athletic and a great utility player,” coach Jeremy Yeager said. “She leads our team in scoring and in assists. Her aggressiveness came out from within (on the yellow card).”
