MHS soccer wins district title
KENNY LARABEE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville sophomore Annika Johnson (center) is hugged by teammates after her early goal gave the Spoofhounds a 1-0 lead. The Spoofhounds defeated Excelsior Spring 2-1 in the Class 2 District 16 tournament Wednesday in Cameron.
The Maryville girls’ soccer team is moving on.
The Spoofhounds defeated the Excelsior Springs Tigers 2-1 in the Class 2 District 16 tournament Wednesday in Cameron, giving the Hounds a district title and earning them a trip to sectionals.
An early goal from Maryville sophomore Annika Johnson got the Hounds started. Excelsior Springs broke up a scoring opportunity from Maryville in the ninth minute, leading to a corner kick from Maryville sophomore Lydia Mitchell. Mitchell launched a shot to the front of the net, where Maryville junior Meghan Yarnell got a handle on the ball and passed it to Johnson, who fired it through the net for an early 1-0 lead.
“It was a beautiful play,” Maryville Head Coach Dale Reuter said. “Meghan understood what she was doing. She put a nice ball out there to Anna and Anna put it in the back of the net.”
With the Tigers pressuring the Hounds early and regularly dropping two or three defenders to guard Maryville senior Mollie Holtman, Johnson’s goal allowed Maryville to play more to their style, Reuter said.
“It’s huge. It settles you down,” Reuter said. “You could tell right off the bat, they were pressuring. And we were able to turn the tide on them. We made some good runs and we slowed them up on that quite a bit.
“We have to play both halves of the field and if we can get that we spread them out a little bit, we start getting the numbers in our half and we’re able to play our game.”
The Spoofhounds added another score just before the half when Excelsior Springs tried to clear the ball from their goal. Instead, the ball bounced off Maryville sophomore Lydia Mitchell’s knee and into the net at the 39th minute.
“We did get lucky where they bounced one off of Lydia’s knee and it went in,” Reuter said. “That’s the way it goes. I’ll take that. That’s just hard hustle and being in the right place at the right time. That’s soccer.”
Excelsior Springs cut Maryville’s lead in half in the game’s 63rd minute when freshman Saige Williams scored a goal for the Tigers, making it 2-1 in favor of Maryville. With Excelsior Springs desperately trying to tie the score as the clock wound down, the Maryville defense refused to relent.
“Our defense did not let up,” Holtman said. “They were so strong and they always talk, they always communicate and they’re always on the same page.”
The clock finally did reach zero, and when it did, the Spoofhounds had their second-straight district title.
Maryville will now face the winner of Moberly and Kirksville on Saturday, with the location still to be determined. Moberly and Kirksville play Thursday.
Editor’s note: Meghan Yarnell was incorrectly listed as the corner kicker on Annika Johnson’s goal. The article has been edited to list Lydia Mitchell as the player who performed the corner kick.
KENNY LARABEE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville freshman Maile Baker battles Excelsior Springs sophomore Josie Rimmer for control of the ball during the Spoofhounds’ 2-1 win over Excelsior Springs in the Class 2 District 16 tournament Wednesday in Cameron.
KENNY LARABEE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville senior Mollie Holtman races for the goal during the Spoofhounds’ 2-1 win over Excelsior Springs in the Class 2 District 16 tournament Wednesday in Cameron.
KENNY LARABEE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville senior Leah Jasinski defends against the Excelsior Springs attack during the Spoofhounds’ 2-1 win over Excelsior Springs in the Class 2 District 16 tournament Wednesday in Cameron.
