Harlan advances to face Bondurant-Farrar in 1A Regional
Final
By Drew Herron - NT Sports Editor / May 31, 2013
HARLAN – Following bouts of high-pressure but an ultimately
unproductive first half Friday, Harlan broke loose with three second-half
scores that would lift them past Atlantic and into a Regional final.
HCHS’ junior Sidney Mills broke the ice off a free kick at
the 46-minute mark for the first of her two goals on the night, and senior
Cheryl Kleffman would tack on another goal off a penalty kick as the Cyclones
defeated the Trojans 3-0 in second-round playoff action.
“We came in tonight with nothing to lose, and everything to
win, we were the underdog,” Atlantic coach Joanne Sandage said afterwards. “It
was not the result we had hoped for, but I felt we played pretty well, and I am
proud of the way our girls competed.”
Harlan’s 3-0 win marks the second victory over Atlantic in
five weeks, having defeated them 1-0 on the same field during Hawkeye 10
Conference play on April 26.
On Friday night, with a shot at the Class 1A Region 3 Final
in tow, Harlan simply proved to have more horsepower.
The Cyclones spent the majority of the first half on the
attack, hammering away with 24 shots, though just six of those went on target
as Atlantic’s defensive tact forced Harlan into rushing things.
Atlantic paid special attention to Harlan’s top two goal
scorers, Ana Petersen and Cheryl Kleffman, who have combined for 16 goals in 17
matches. The Trojans stuck ReAnn Cappel on Petersen and Diana Perkins on
Kleffman as the senior defenders effectively shadowed HCHS’ top two offensive
threats.
“The plan was ReAnn would mark up on (Petersen) and Diana
would mark up on (Kleffman), and then our middle mids would cover the remaining
girls. It worked well at times, we kept them frustrated.”
With Petersen and Kleffman kept at arm’s length, Harlan had
to find other ways to hurt Atlantic.
“They stuck one girl on them at all times, and everybody
else fills,” HCHS coach Jared Boysen said of the Trojans’ defensive effort.
“Whenever they dribbled, there is somebody else right on them. (Petersen and
Kleffman) had a tough time.”
Harlan held Atlantic without a shot in the first half, and
left half a dozen scoring opportunities on the table through the first 40
minutes, leaving the heavily-favored Cyclones frustrated at the break.
“It kind of felt like the last time we played (Atlantic),”
coach Boysen said. “They play good defense, and we were getting our shots, they
just weren’t getting on goal. There was a little bit of anxiety in the first
half.”
In the second 40 minutes, Harlan turned around and went
against a stiff wind, but it proved not to matter much.
Mills scored 7:29 into the second half after knocking a free
kick past Atlantic goalkeeper Maren McNees, and Harlan would go ahead by two
scores four minutes later when Kleffman converted on a penalty kick.
Coach Boysen says his squad just kept their cool and kept
sawing wood despite the frustrations of the first half.
“We started crossing it a little better and getting it on
the backside,” he said.
With 2:17 remaining, Harlan would add a third score when
Mills buried a goal off a centering pass from Petersen as Petersen collected
her own rebound off a PK.
HCHS would finish with 37 shots, 14 of them on target, and
19 shots handled by McNees.
The Cyclones (11-7) will advance to play No. 10-ranked
Bondurant-Farrar (9-7) on Monday in Bondurant for a shot at a State Tournament
berth.
Atlantic hangs it up with a 4-13 record, and bids farewell
to three senior captains, who have made up the defensive corps of the team for
several years now. The program will look to rebuild after the loss of Cappel,
Perkins, and Ali Hosfelt.
“We improved quite a bit, so it makes it hard when the girls
have practiced and worked as they did…they wanted this so badly,” coach Sandage
says. “It’s a difficult loss.”
Game Scoring (05/31)
HCHS (46:31) – Sidney Mills, 1-0
HCHS (50:55) – Cheryl Kleffman, 2-0
HCHS (77:43) – Sidney Mills, 3-0
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