By Victoria Wittenbrock
Intern
GREEN BAY – The girls’ varsity soccer game between the Green Bay East Red Devils and Green Bay Preble Hornets April 4 was chippy from the beginning and close until the end.
With more than 10 fouls combined during the game, the first one happening within the first three minutes, it was clear both teams turned up their aggression to battle for the win.
After a hard-fought nonconference match, the final result was a 2-2 tie – a score both teams seemed to accept with hopes of improving the rest of the season.
East Head Coach Jay VanCampenhout said he was proud of his team’s work ethic and performance.
“The passing we had made a big difference to allow us to stay in the game and for it to remain close – even to take the lead until we lost that second goal,” he said. “We can improve on having more communication, which was a bit lacking. There was some openness in the field we need to clean up. Overall, it’s a group who hasn’t played or practiced much together yet, so getting to a comfort level is the biggest thing to work on.”
Possession seemed fairly even for the first 10 minutes, but in the 12th minute, an own goal by Preble (0-2-1) caused a setback to the team’s morale.
East (0-0-1) began to capitalize on its momentum and pursue an aggressive attack, but a pair of substitutions – Johanna Thompson and Lola Dax – in the 24th minute for the Hornets seemed to add an offensive spark.
After a series of corner kicks for Preble between the 30th and 32nd minutes, Thompson struck a ball low on the ground off of a corner kick to even the score 1-1.
“There is lots of room for improvement, but since we’ve only had one practice, I think we did well,” Thompson said of her team’s performance.
East was not ready to let up, however, and continued to finish the first half strong.
A free kick in the 39th minute outside the 18-yard line allowed Adriana Montoya Valdez to place an impressive shot in the upper left corner of the net, giving the Red Devils a 2-1 lead heading into intermission.
Preble’s Lauren Armstrong worked hard to get a cross off across the face of the East goal eight minutes into the second half.
Moments later, Thompson ripped a shot from 20 yards out that ricocheted off the crossbar and bounced around the box a bit before landing at the feet of Armstrong, who hammered it past the Red Devils’ defense and goalie to tie the game 2-2 in the 50th minute.
Both teams persevered the rest of the game, with Preble’s Kaylyn Erickson attempting to score on a 1-on-1 with the goalie in the 75th minute for a shot and near-miss.
The match was riveting until the last minute when East’s Ellena Gallegos had a breakaway toward the goal but was fouled by Preble’s midfield, which earned a yellow card for the penalty.
The free-kick was the Red Devils’ final solid attempt but was stopped by the Hornets goalie.
Preble Head Coach Katie VandeCastle said she’s optimistic about the upcoming season.
“This is our third game with only one practice, so we have lots of work to do,” she said. “The girls played well, put lots together and worked well together at the end.”