WOOD RIVER – Jersey's girls soccer team has, it would be fair to say, been playing under very difficult circumstances lately.
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Anna Hausman, a sophomore midfielder/defender, died in a vehicular crash recently, and Hausman's loss has been felt by everyone on the team. The Panthers got back on the field last week against North Mac and took on Roxana Monday evening in the Oiler Soccer Classic at Wood River Soccer Park.
“As everyone knows, we lost a player (Hausman),” said Panther coach Brad Kimble. “It's hard coming back; we haven't had practice, haven't had real strategy, haven't worked on any technical kinds of things for a week and a half. It's difficult coming back; that was a good game for us. We got our feet back underneath us.
“We had some pretty good touches throughout the game, but there's some things we can definitely work on.”
Kimble said the Panthers are adjusting to the loss of Hausman. “Everything's a new normal now because she was one of our starting players,” Kimble said. “Everything's kind of new to us, getting a different feel on the field. We definitely did some things well on the field tonight; there's some things we can improve on.”
“The girls played well, played a solid 80 minutes,” said Shells coach Lori Yates. “I'm really proud of them; I liked how we came out with three goals in the first half and had a little insurance to play with; they all played well.
“Kara Meyer's goal (the Shells' opening goal of the match) off a header – she's a senior this year – that was her one wish this year, so she accomplished that. That was a very proud moment.”
Meyer's goal came in the 11th minute to put the Shells up 1-0; Roxana's second goal came in the 26th minute when Alyssa Copeland scored off a pass from Brittany Alexander, with Abby Kurth (assisted by Emma Lucas) adding a third goal in the 36th minute for a 3-0 Roxana lead at the break.
The match stayed at 3-0 until Lucas found the range off a Hannah Mormino pass, putting the ball into the back of the net in the 74th minute to extend the lead to 4-0; Haley Ridenhour, from an assist by Lauren Davis, scored in the 77th minute for the Panthers.
The Shells meet backyard rivals East Alton-Wood River at 6 p.m. Tuesday as the tournament continues; Jersey takes on Mascoutah at 4 p.m. in the opening match of the day.
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