Spoofhounds overcome wind, Dragons
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville freshman midfielder Maddie Holtman tries to get her shot off before the Cameron goalkeeper can collapse on her. Frankie Archer made the save on the shot, but the Lady Hounds beat the Dragons 9-0 on Wednesday afternoon.
It took awhile, by the Maryville girls’ standards at least, to get a feel for the ball Wednesday afternoon. Gusts that reached upwards of 20 miles per hour might have had a little something to do with that.
“The ball was terrible. The ball and the wind were horrible because you’re trying to get those through passes, and you can’t,” Maryville senior forward Ashton Reuter said. “The wind, you hit it, and it’s like a wall. Then trying to run in it, that’s even worse. It’s like running in mud or hitting a brick wall, one or the other. It’s just terrible.”
Once Reuter and the Lady Hounds settled in, though, they got rolling for the second time in as many days, shutting out Cameron 9-0 to improve to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Midland Empire Conference.
The senior forward dove into the 18-yard box in the 16th minute to volley home a cross from freshman midfielder Lydia Mitchell. Twenty-three seconds later, Reuter took a pass from junior forward Mollie Holtman and poked a slow-roller past Cameron keeper Frankie Archer.
Just 45 seconds later, junior midfielder Abby Van de Ven used the wind to her advantage as her shot from the left side of the box floated over Archers hands and dropped under the crossbar.
After the wave of offense, the Spoofhound defense settled in and stifled several Dragon attacks in front of sophomore keeper Abbie Greeley, who started in place of junior Kylie Reuter who had to tend to FFA districts before returning in time for the second half.
“She got a lot more touches than I was expecting, but she did good,” said Maryville assistant coach Jessica Driskell, who coached the second half after head coach Dale Reuter had to leave early. “She really stepped up. Kind of a nerve-breaker for her.”
In the 27th minute, the Dragons scored an own goal as the ball hit Bianca Lopez in the shoulder and bounced into the net as she collided with Archer and Ashton Reuter.
Ashton Reuter came back 26 seconds later to complete the hat trick on an assist by senior midfielder Hannah Brod.
Ashton Reuter said it’s the Maryville defense that allows the offense to be so aggressive in piling on goals.
“It’s great to know we have a strong backline,” she said. “When the offense is up there, especially in tough games — like our KC Lutheran game — just knowing we have a strong defense, we have a strong offense, we can kind of feed off each other and that helps keep us going.”
The second half started almost exactly how the first half ended. Brod put a cross on the far post and Ashton Reuter darted in to finish before a minute had ticked off the second-half clock.
Holtman got in on the action in the 45th minute, scoring unassisted, and Ashton Reuter added her fifth of the day just over a minute later to give the Spoofhounds hope of ending another contest early.
The Dragons’ defense once again locked down, not conceding another goal until Reuter scored after a pass from Holtman in the 75th minute.
The Spoofhounds wrap up their grueling three games in three days stretch Thursday against Savannah after scoring 19 goals in the first two legs.
“When you look at it, it’s like I’ve got 80 minutes today, 80 minutes tomorrow and 80 minutes the next day. That’s a lot of soccer,” Ashton Reuter said. “… Both teams, even though the scores don’t show it, they fight. It’s not just a walk in the park.
First kick is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Hound Pound.
“Obviously, it’s Savannah, it’s going to be a physical game,” Ashton Reuter said. “Even if they’re down 20-0 in the first 10 minutes, they’re still going to fight you. They’ve got a good program. Last year, they were better than the year before, so I’m assuming this year they are going to make more improvements and give us a good game.”
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville senior midfielder Hannah Brod spots an open teammate and sends a cross into the box in the first half of the Spoofhounds 9-0 win over Cameron Wednesday. Brod recorded a pair of assists as the Lady Hounds moved to 3-0 on the year.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville junior midfielder Abby Van de Ven keeps the ball at her foot despite a challenge from Cameron midfielder Kylie Campbell (6) during the Spoofhounds’ 9-0 win over the Dragons Wednesday. Van de Ven notched her first goal of the season in the 17th minute, floating a shot over Cameron goalkeeper Frankie Archer.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville freshman midfielder Lydia Mitchell puts a shot on goal in the Lady Hounds 9-0 conference win over Cameron Wednesday afternoon at the Hound Pound.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville senior forward Ashton Reuter pokes one of her six goals into the back of the net during the Spofhounds’ 9-0 win over MEC foe Cameron Wednesday afternoon. Reuter has 11 of the Hounds’ 19 goals in the last two days.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville senior forward Ashton Reuter gets a shot off before the Cameron defense can collapse on her. Reuter ended up being surrounded by four Dragons on this shot, but still managed to score six goals in the Hounds’ 9-0 win Wednesday.
