Tigers obliterate Jacks in CWAC opener
Tigers obliterate Jacks in CWAC opener
QUINCY - Soccer teams with seven sophomores and six freshman aren't supposed to start their league season with an 11-0 victory.
Don't tell that to the Ephrata Lady Tigers. They scoffed at the notion Tuesday afternoon, using superior speed and skill to overwhelm the Quincy Jackrabbits in the Central Washington Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
The Tigers have oodles of hours at the club team level, and that's what propelled them to the easy victory, head coach Hillary Coomes explained.
"The experience as far as varsity play isn't there, but I know a lot of them have played a lot of youth soccer," said Coomes, who had to deal with the graduation of several key seniors in 2006. "We've had a lot of positions open up from last year to this year, so we're trying to fill some positions and still feel each other out."
After 10 minutes of feeling out the Lady Jacks, Ephrata buried their hosts with an avalanche of goals. A tentative Quincy defense certainly contributed to several easy tallies, and the Tigers out-shot Quincy 18-5.
Sophomore forward Alex Youngberg got things going in the 10th minute, swiping a loose ball from Quincy goalkeeper Celia Beltran and finding an open net. Teammate Jordyn Murray scored two minutes later with a bullet to the far, upper corner.
Murray, a returning sophomore, is one of the Tigers' most unique threats in the midfield because of her size.
"She's strong," Coomes said of Murray. "Not as fast as most of my forwards, but she's there as far as strength and the ability to turn and put the ball in.
"That's where our maturity and our experience lies, is in the front line," she added.
Ephrata's onslaught continued as Jessica McDonnell beat Beltran with a one-on-one chance in the 14th minute. Murray's excellent transition feed set up DJ Dodson for a similar goal in the 20th minute, putting Ephrata up 4-0.
Quincy wasn't without its opportunities during that span. The Jacks earned a free kick from 20 yards out, and Katherine Pontarolo-Maag's shot barely sailed over the crossbar. Mari Haro set up Desi Durfee with a mini-breakaway moments later, but Tiger keeper Kathryn Bolding - one of those six freshmen - slapped the shot away for her best save of the game.
While a few dangerous chances wouldn't have made much difference on this day, Coomes wants her players to understand that defensive mistakes against other CWAC foes won't go unpunished.
"If we were facing a more experienced front line than what Quincy had, they would've been a couple goals," she said. "We think those opportunities should not be there."
Ephrata finished the first half with three more goals. Murray set up McDonnell's second goal in the 22nd minute, Kamalpreet Jhutty juked Beltran out of position in the 31st minute and a Quincy defender knocked the ball into her own net in the 38th minute.
Three more goals in a six-minute span kickstarted the second half for Ephrata. Murray took a throw-in, turned and beat backup keeper Cristian Ramon to the near post for an 8-0 lead. Emily Wallace scored on a beautiful 18-yard shot five minutes later, and McDonnell completed her hat trick in the next minute from 10 yards out.
Ephrata's final goal came in the 62nd minute as Youngberg got her second of the match on a perfectly-placed ball from 20 yards out.
The Tigers continue their road trip Thursday against the Grandview Greyhounds in a non-league match. Coomes expects Grandview to provide a more physical test for her goal scorers.
"I've heard they've got a couple really fast forwards," she added, "so I'm hoping we can get our defensive adjustments so they don't exploit us and get a couple goals."
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