Lady Bulldogs post win over Livingston
By GEORGIA PURDY Newsboy Correspondent

Newsboy photo/Georgia Purdy JASPER'S LINDSEY BOWERS plays defense during last week's contest with Nacogdoches. Bowers plays left wing for the Lady Bulldogs.

The Jasper Lady Bulldog soccer team posted their second district win last Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over Livingston, then lost to Nacogdoches Friday night.

Both Livingston and Jasper came into the game with a single district win, hoping to place themselves in the middle of the district race, coach Ron Vickers said.

Early in the game, the Lady Lions had an opportunity to score on a indirect free kick from about 25 yards. They got the ball in the goal but it didn't count because it didn't touch another player.

Livingston didn't miss the next opportunity as they made a straight run at Jasper goalie Marcie Ratcliff. Without another Jasper player close, the Lady Lions shot around the goalie and found the back of the net to go up 1-0.

With only a minute to go in the first period, Jasper's Caroline Kipp shot across the Livingston goalie and left wing Brooke Wagnon tapped it in, and the game was tied 1-1.

The Lady Bulldogs dominated possession in the second half but were unable to finish a scoring drive until late in the game.

"We had several near misses that gave us hope we could break the tie," Vickers said. "With about eight minutes left, Natalie Dufner, playing forward, made a 20 yard plus shot that found the back of the net and put Jasper ahead."

In order to preserve the victory, Vickers said he moved midfielder Jessica Alvis, who had been playing forward when the last score was made, to defensive wing to prevent break away runs on the Jasper goal.

Unfortunately, with about two minutes left in the game Alvis was fouled hard and injured her ankle. The Lady Bulldogs stepped up their defense and prevented Livingston from scoring, but Alvis will be out several weeks.

"Once again, Jasper raised their level of play when necessary to win against an opponent that was hungry for a victory," Vickers said.

The Lady Bulldogs suffered a 3-0 defeat in a competitive match against a Nacogdoches team that remains in one of the top position in district standings.

The game began on a defensive note with both teams making several runs into the opponent's end of the field. With strong defense and good saves by the goalies from both teams, neither was able to score.

After about 20 minutes, Nacogdoches scored on a strong kick from well outside the 18-yard box.

Jasper continued to play strong defense and made several deep penetrations into the Nacogdoches end of the field on solid midfield play by Valerie Dufner and Rachel Vickers and outstanding wing runs by freshman Caroline Kipp.

"Still, we were not able to penetrate the inner box and every attempt at a goal was either slightly wide, a little tall or intercepted by the goalie," Coach Vickers said.

Late in the first half, the Lady Dragons again found the back of the net on a combination that passed the ball out to the right side of the field and pulled the Jasper defense to that side before swinging the ball back toward the middle and penetrating for a goal.

"Nacogdoches scored one more time before the half but the Jasper defense of sweeper Amanda Miesch, wings Morgan Marx and Lindsey Bowers and stopper Rebecca Vickers responded to many other attempts," Vickers said. "They kept most Dragon shots to a distance that goalie Marcie Ratcliff easily caught and punted the ball back deep into the middle of the field."

Vickers said the second half was extremely competitive and his team tightened their defense.

"The Lady Bulldogs showed extreme hustle to the ball and rejected every attempt that Nacogdoches made toward the goal," Vickers said. "Forward Kelsey Walker and Natalie Dufner made several runs on the goal and right wing Brooke Wagnon also had several shots from the wing, but Jasper was never able to finish a scoring drive."

Vickers said that the loss of Jessica Alvis hurt but the team responded with superb effort against Nacogdoches Friday night.

"Against this level of a team, we played our best defensive game showing much improvement on transitioning to defense more quickly and anticipating passes by the opponent," he said. "This extra effort paid off in keeping scoring drives from getting into the final third of the field as well as opening up opportunities for drives of our own into the opposing end of the field."