By Josh Staloch
Correspondent
DE PERE – De Pere girls’ soccer player Annika Zastrow had a shot blocked in the final minutes of play at home against Bay Port May 25.
The attempt, one that would have been a game-winner, came amidst a flurry of Redbirds’ activity in the Bay Port zone, but Pirates goalie Holli Vieau made the save.
The contest looked like it was headed for a 1-1 tie until Zastrow, with 10 seconds remaining, fired off a shot to the right side of the goal that found the back of the net in a 2-1 Fox River Classic Conference victory.
“(Zastrow) almost scored with about four minutes left in the game – she had one go off the post that could have won it for us,” said De Pere head coach Andy Steger. “She wanted to score. I was pleased with the pressure we put on Bay Port, especially the last 10 minutes.”
Early on, the visiting Pirates applied most of the pressure.
It paid off when Brinkley Trudell collected a rebound on a shot attempt by teammate Grace Thomas that hit the top bar of the goal.
Trudell made the most of the opportunity in the 13th minute with a shot past De Pere goalie Grace Claflin for a 1-0 lead.
The Pirates maintained their lead through the first half, despite De Pere spending lots of time on the Bay Port side of the field.
Nine minutes into the second half, De Pere’s Greta Czachor lofted a shot over Vieau from a good distance out for the tying goal.
“Bay Port is a tough team – very fast, especially with how they move on defense, so it was great to find a way to break through and get the win,” Steger said. “We knew we were going to have to move the ball quickly. They’ve got tough and quick defenders. Again, we did a good job in the last 10 minutes. We put some great pressure on them toward the end of the game, and we were able to crack one.”