SMITHVILLE — Saturday afternoon might be one of those days that neither Chippewa nor Smithville will forget for the rest of the season.
For both teams, it was a test, and in the end, it was what happened in about three seconds that decided the final outcome.
Just 12 minutes (28:08) into the game, the Chipps got a free kick on the near wing which Elena Moyer took. Firing the ball into the right side of the box, Annie Henegar settled it with one touch and then emptied it into the net for the game’s only score.
“Elena had a beautiful free ball to me,” said Henegar. “I was able to one-touch it and then shoot it in. It was a good combination between us, it was early in the game, it put us on the board, and I thought that was pretty good.”
It was a huge momentum shifter for the Chipps.
“I thought it shifted the entire energy of the game,” added teammate Addison Good.
From there, Chippewa continued the barrage as it would outshoot the host Smithies to a tune of 14-1 in the opening period. Still, the Green Machine’s defense held strong and didn’t let another one past.
Playing huge for Smithville was its defense anchored by Claire Haas, Hailey Thut, Aly Wickens, Cammi Wickens and goalkeeper Jenna Necko. That unit would answer the bell time and time again, as Henegar, Delaney Marshall, Delaney McNab and company would keep the heat up and finished with a 24-3 edge in total shots and 10-1 advantage in shots on frame.
“(Claire) Haas and her teammates did a great job,” said Chippewa coach Ruth Coney. “Jenna (Necko) had a lot of nice saves and a good game for them.”
In the second half, the tide would turn ever so slightly as Smithville began to create itself some opportunities in the Chipps’ defensive third. Shelby Schenk, Tessa Daniels, Shayna Lowe, Kaylie Holmes and Haas combined for some nifty runs down the wings.
“Our halftime talk hyped us up for the second half,” said Mia Rodriguez, a midfielder. “They also came out with a lot of intensity, and it was a good challenge.”
“Their defensive runs were great, and we had to play tough on defense,” said defender Addison Good. “They really wanted the game, they played with a lot of heart, and I definitely respect them for that.”
The Smithies best looks came with about 20 minutes left in regulation when Haas made a run that started at midfield, up through the spine and finished with her dumping the ball off on the right-side of the box. On the ensuing free kick, the ball was crossed perfectly to top of the box to Tessa Daniels. She turned hard to her right where Good was firmly entrenched, the Chipp defender cleared the ball off of her foot and out of harm’s way.
With about 16 minutes left, Rodriguez drew a foul inside the box to stop another Smithville run.
“They were really aggressive and physical,” said midfielder, Elena Moyer. “That is something that we do, but we have to be able to defend it too.”
“Smithville has lot of valuable players and it was really a challenging game,” added Rodriguez. “I am really proud of us for stepping up to that challenge.”
The Chipps missed putting the game on ice with about five minutes left when Aly Wickens and Haas both made superb defensive plays, winning one-on-one stops. Then at 4:22, Henegar drew the far post with a shot and just before a Chipp player could sink her foot through the ball, Necko dove to the post and wrap it up.
“We knew that the first five minutes and last minutes were going to be the most important,” said Good. “We also knew that they were going to come out with a lot of steam and matching that energy was key.”
As the clock hit triple zeroes, Chippewa could finally breathe. It had withstood the Smithies’ best swings but just as the Chipps have done so many times since the turn of 2000, they walked off the pitch with yet another win.
“They had a good one touch-two touch game, but we stepped it up,” said Henegar. “We tried to get every loose ball that we could, they had some good runs from their defensive line, but we stepped up and were able to stop those runs.”
For the Smithies, it was a tough result, but one that Keener definitely felt they could build off of going forward.
“We can feel disappointed that we didn’t get the result that we were hoping for,” said Keener. “But we can be proud of the effort that we gave to try and get there. You know it means a lot to the girls when they’re starting to tear up a little bit because they are so disappointed.
“Chippewa is the standard for girls’ soccer, that’s what everybody in this area strives to be. You measure yourselves as a team by the results of these games and today was the closest that we’ve competed with them for 80 minutes.”
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