Lady Hounds pass last test before districts
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Maryville junior defender Jacquelyn Ware cuts off a Chillicothe run in the first half, heading the ball away. The Spoofhounds went on to win the regular season finale 8-0.
Wednesday night’s regular season finale is exactly what the Maryville girls’ soccer team needed heading into Class 2, District 16 play next week — a tough opponent in less than optimal conditions.
A night after topping the first round district opponent, Savannah, 5-1, the Lady Hounds beat Chillicothe — a team Maryville head coach Dale Reuter said his team is on a collision course with for sectionals — 8-0 on senior night at the Hound Pound.
“Chillicothe is a good team. I know he (Chillicothe coach Lance Harvey) is over there kicking himself, thinking, ‘Why can’t I play Maryville better than I do?’ I do not know why, but he has a very good team. I know he’s got something going on and I had a feeling today he didn’t want to show his whole hand because he knows if we’re successful and he’s successful, we’re going to meet in sectionals. And he’s going to have something different for me, I know he is.”
“I think we’re playing very good on turf, we’re playing very good in the rain, which are two things that hurt us last year, especially in the district games. … We’ve played several games in the rain, we’ve played several games on turf and we adjusted well. That’s a great feeling going into districts that whatever adversity we’re going to face as far as weather conditions, we know we can play through it.”
The Spoofhounds, who are known for their fast starts, limped out of the gates. Despite putting several shots on frame — a trio of shots from senior Ashton Reuter quite literally bouncing off the crossbar and far post — in the opening 10 minutes, Maryville just couldn’t catch a break.
“We like to get out to quick starts and we had the chances up there. I think they were just pushing a little bit,” Dale Reuter said. “… Early on, we were pressing a little bit too much. Then we settled down and just took good shots. It took us a while to start doing that.”
Junior forward Mollie Holtman got the ball rolling in the 12th minute, hammering home a pass from Ashton Reuter near the top of the 18-yard box.
Ashton Reuter finally got on the board in the 28th minute, converting an assist from freshman midfielder Lydia Mitchell, and something clicked as Maryville proceeded to score three more goals in the next nine minutes.
“We just settled down,” Dale Reuter said. “We were catching them in transition … we were moving to our passes, we were just playing much better soccer. When they settle down, that’s when it’s better for them.”
Mitchell scored on a cross from Mollie Holtman in the 31st minute and freshman midfielder Maddie Holtman scorched a shot from outside of the box that glanced off of the fingertips of Chillicothe’s goalkeeper and into the top of the net.
“Maddie Holtman did a great job today, she didn’t back off,” Dale Reuter said. “Lydia (Mitchell) did a wonderful job on the outside, made some good runs, made some great crosses. Those two players, with the way our season is, have got to step up and today makes me feel really good going into districts with the way they played. I look for them to continue with that. I think they were a little apprehensive to begin with, but they’re settling in, knowing their roles and working hard.”
Ashton Reuter added her second goal of the afternoon in the 37th minute on another assist from Mollie Holtman to give the Hounds a 5-0 lead at intermission.
Mollie Holtman opened the second half much like the first 40 minutes, scoring in the 47th minute on an assist from senior midfielder Hannah Brod. She completed the hat trick in the 56th minute, rifling a shot across the box and into the top left corner.
Ashton Reuter capped the scoring by completing her own hat trick in the 79th minute.
“It was a good game for us going into districts,” Dale Reuter said. “It was a great game for senior night and a great way to end our regular season, but we’re not done. The big week starts next week.”
The Spoofhounds (16-2) take on Savannah at 5 p.m. Monday, May 18 in Excelsior Springs in the opening round of the Class 2, District 16 Tournament. The winner advances to the championship game against either Excelsior Springs or Cameron at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 20.
“I knew it going into this season that it was going to come down to us and them (Chillicothe) at the sectional level,” Dale Reuter said. “We’ve got to get by Cameron, Savannah and Excelsior Springs. If we play like we played today, I feel really good about that.”
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville junior forward Mollie Holtman battles with Chillicothe’s Hallee Jones for possession during the Spoofhounds’ 8-0 win Wednesday afternoon. Holtman scored three goals and recorded a pair of assists in the victory.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville senior midfielder Maddie Jones connects with the wrong target, her opponents’ head, during the Lady Hounds’ 8-0 win over Chillicothe Wednesday at the Hound Pound.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville senior forward Ashton Reuter went out with a bang Wednesday night, scoring a hat trick in the Spoofhounds’ 8-0 senior night win over Chillicothe to wrap up the regular season.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville senior forward Ashton Reuter puts a shot just wide of the keeper, and the goal, during the first half of the Lady Hounds’ 8-0 win over Chillicothe Wednesday. Reuter recorded a hat trick and also added an assist in the victory.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Maryville junior forward Mollie Holtman beats Chillicothe’s Morgan Grable to the ball and fires a shot on goal Wednesday afternoon. Holtman scored three goals and added two assists as the Lady Hounds wrapped up the regular season with an 8-0 win.
