On April 21, the girls’ varsity soccer team lost a tough match to Fort Zumwalt North. The game was a close call throughout the night as the Knights pushed through until overtime, which led to their loss in the final two minutes, leaving the game 0-1. 

The girls started off the week with a late Monday game. A slow start was expected due to the crucial days lost to the weekend. With that in mind, a strong warm-up was crucial for the game that was to come.

“I don’t typically like Monday games, just because the girls come back from a weekend and there’s rust and, you know, you don’t get a chance to kind of knock all that off before your first game,” head soccer coach Matt Havermale said.

The Knights played a hard defense throughout the night. They had strong defense from key players senior Kate Vernon and senior Maddy Brewer, who maintained strong communication with goalie sophomore Jenna Smith in the first half of the game.

“We came out and supported our JV team before the game,” defense and junior Camryn Portell said. “Like to get our heads into the right place before the game and I think that definitely helped us get in the right mindset.”

Leading into the second half of the game, the win was still up in the air for either team. Attack was the name of the game, which Haveramale was looking to engrave into the girls. Energy was decreasing from both teams as the ball was driven back and forth, seeing the goal post in sight for only a few seconds until it was stolen and dribbled back to the other side. This is what led to the first injury of the night for the Knights. 

“I think there were some dirty fouls,” Portell said. “I’m hoping they’re not too bad [the players] and we’ll be able to play with them, because one of them is a very good forward and we had a very good defender and so they’re definitely key parts of our team and we hope to have them back for Thursday.”

Forward and junior Emerson Kennedy got injured during the first five minutes of the second half. In an act of sportsmanship, Kennedy was carried off the field by two opponents and subbed in. While the two opposing players were off the field helping Kennedy, the referees resumed the game, throwing off the next couple of minutes of the game.

“He later apologized, and said it was a mistake, which I honestly think it was,” Portell said. “I like how both teams ended up handling the mistake, so no unfair play was done.”

Less than 10 minutes later, junior and defense player Ellie McCoy got injured and was helped off the field by captain and junior Morgan Smith. McCoy was subbed in by Vernon.

The game led into a 10-minute overtime with players losing and recovering the ball every couple of seconds. Strong shots were made at the goal by players junior Amari Jones, sophomore Lexi Lohnes, as well as other players, but none were successful. 

With only two minutes left in overtime, a goal was scored by Fort Zumwalt North, ending the night 0-1.

“I think we defended really well for the majority of the game,” Havermale said. “You know, one moment doesn’t make for a bad game. I think that the defense played really, really well. We got some good minutes from people that don’t typically play, so that was also a highlight that we got some people that stepped up when we had some people out.”

The knights continue on with a new mindset in place for when they compete against Fort Zumwalt East later this week. Looking at their history with East confirms the energy and performance they’re able to bring on April 24. Another huge motivator to win is senior night, which will highlight graduating players, Addie Butler, Mady Brewer, Faith Fuller, Shalini Sharma and Kate Vernon.

“East and North, totally different,” Portell said. “We got it, and it’s our senior night, so we’re gonna be pumped and ready to beat them.”

Even with the tough loss to Fort Zumwalt North, the girls are hoping to learn from the loss and make sure the practices leading up to the game against Fort Zumwalt East hone a strong mindset and a stronger defense.

“We played really hard,” Portell said. “We didn’t come out on top, but we played a really hard 90 minutes, and this is definitely something to learn from, but not look down on.”

Gallery • 12 Photos

Credit to Miranda Fabian

Junior Emerson Kennedy is being carried off the field by Fort Zumwalt North players after being injured during the second half of a game on April 21.