By Drew Herron - NT Sports Editor / May 29, 2013
ATLANTIC – Trojans’ junior forward Emily Mitchell placed a
well struck ball off a free kick above a wall of Creston defenders and into the
top left corner of the Panthers’ net a little more than three minutes into the
second half Tuesday night at AHS.
That goal would prove decisive, as Atlantic would hold on
for a 1-0 win over Creston, and advance along the IGHSAU Regional Tournament
playoffs to face Harlan Friday night at Merrill Field.
Atlantic held the upper hand the majority of the 80 minutes
against the winless Panthers, and afterwards Trojans’ coach Joanne Sandage
praised the effort as the team pocketed its most important win yet this season.
“Our girls played hard and we controlled the ball,” coach
Sandage said. “They came out like they really wanted to win this game, and it
showed. I really liked the effort…the girls want to push this, because now it’s
a whole new season.”
Mitchell’s goal at the 44-minute mark broke a scoreless
deadlock, and injected a bit of energy into Atlantic as the team worked to
notch another score.
“Emily’s shot was perfect,” coach Sandage says. “That’s
exactly how you want to do it. But I’m happy with the way we didn’t just sit
back and rest with the lead. We kept working to get another (goal).”
The Trojans displayed better ball control than did Creston,
and was able to control the middle of the pitch as Atlantic’s defense proved
stout and fed the transition.
Senior captain Diana Perkins led the team with four steals
and eight interceptions while Creston managed just two shots on target for the
entire match.
The victory is the second over Creston this season for
Atlantic, both of them coming via a 1-0 final score.
“We talked about the need to win the 50-50 balls,” coach
Sandage said. “Last time we faced Creston, we won, but I feel we didn’t win
those 50-50s. We did that tonight.”
Atlantic dictated the attack by moving the ball to the
outside corner, and crossing it back to the center as Creston neglected to
cover the outside. Atlantic threaded the ball through those open lanes to
create scoring chances.
Advancing to face Harlan Friday night, the Trojans will need
to step things up another notch if they want a serious shot of downing the 10-7
Cyclones. In their only previous meeting this season, Harlan at home edged
Atlantic 1-0 on April 26.
Coach Sandage says the team will need to work on its ball
control, and find ways to generate more offense, certainly more than the six
shots they put up in defeating Creston.
“Harlan has a good team, and (Ana) Petersen is a fine
player,” coach Sandage says. “They are fast, and we are going to have to figure
out some ways to slow them down. We are going to have to regroup and come up
with a game plan. Our girls want a second chance at Harlan.”
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