A Win in Elizabeth Leads to a Loss to Littleton

The Lady Spartans headed out to Elizabeth and came home with their first win of the season, but dropped the next match to the Littleton Lions.

Senior Rachel Uyemura throws the ball back into play. Photo provided by Uyemura Family.

On Friday, March 15^th, the Spartan Soccer Squad hosted the Littleton Lion’s in a match that ended in a victory for the Lions.

The Spartans has a scoreless game with the Lions, but put up a good fight.  The Lions scored early in the first half and that was the only goal the Spartans let in during that half.  In the second half, the Lions rang up two more goals, securing their win.

Event though the Spartans didn’t come out on top, they put up some impressive numbers.  The team had a total of nine shots on goal from Sophomores Marina McGinnis, Kelly Cordes, Quinn Roder, and Senior Braelah McGinnis.  Senior Goalkeeper, Sadye Hazan, had a total of 12 saves in the game.

On Thursday, March 14^th, the girls’ soccer team traveled to Elizabeth High School, and defeated the Cardinals in double over time.

The Spartans have never lost to Elizabeth, and this game wasn’t going to be any different.  The ladies knew they had to play hard and they did. They only allowed one goal by Elizabeth in the first half.  Sophomore Quinn Roder scored the first goal for the Spartans and Senior Cleora Keopke headed in the second goal off of a corner kick from Senior Braelah McGinnis.  A few minutes before the half ended, McGinnis was able to get her own goal, and the girls went into the second half with a score of 3-1.

The second half went scoreless for the Spartans, but Elizabeth was able to score two more goals, tying up the game, 3-3.  The second half ended and it was time for the first overtime.  The next goal scored would be the winning goal, and the girls fought hard for possession of the ball.  After five minutes, the second over time began.  Two minutes later, Roder shot the ball from the 30-yard line, and it sailed into the upper right corner of the goal, winning the game for the Spartans.

Although it was a rough first week back due to the snow, the girls’ soccer team rocked back into action.

The snow on the field made it an obstacle to practice, but the girls were able to play well for their first time on the field.  They played at Englewood High School on Saturday, March 2nd, against Lincoln, Alameda, and Englewood.  Each game lasted 25 minutes, but that was enough for the Spartans to come out on top.

They began with Lincoln, where the Lady Spartan defeated the Lancers with a final score of 3-0.  Next up was Alameda, where the girls scored another three goals, and left again with a shutout.  The day ended with Englewood, who put up a good fight for the Spartans.  The Spartans started with a lead but Englewood was able to catch up and the score was tied, 3-3.  With only a few minutes left, Senior Braelah McGinnis was able to get the ball past the Pirates goalie, winning the scrimmage 4-3.

A few days later, on Tuesday, March 5th, the Lady Spartans headed over to Gateway for another scrimmage before their first game.  “It was a rough field to play on, but we handled the ball well, coming out with the ‘W,’” said Senior Defender, Rachel Uyemura.  The girls only let one goal through, but were able to score two.

On Thursday, March 7th, it was game day.  The first official game of the season was against the Rangeview Raiders on their home turf.  The Spartans knew it was going to be a tough game, considering they lost the previous season against the Raiders, and it was.  By halftime the girls were down 2-0.  The second half got a little brighter for the Spartans, with two goals scored.  Sophomore Kelly Cordes was able score the first goal for the Spartans due to a foul committed by Rangeview, and with ten minutes left, McGinnis was able to score the second goal of the game, getting the rest of the team pumped.  Unfortunately, the Raiders were able to come out with the victory, leaving the game with a final score of 7-2.  “We held our ground in the first half and it looked like we had a good chance of beating them, but they came out stronger than we anticipated in the second half.  But I’m still proud of my team, and now we know we have some things to work on,” commented Uyemura.

The girls will have their next game on March 19 against Harrison High School, here at TJ, at 4:30 p.m.  Be sure to head out to the turf to support the Lady Spartans.