The Kickapoo Lady Chiefs ran their seasonal record up to 2-1 Tuesday night, at Kickapoo, with a dominating 5-0 victory over the Lebanon Lady Yellowjackets.
After opening the season with a 8-1 win over Harrison (Ark.) on March 23, Kickapoo fell 5-2 at Columbia Rock Bridge one day later. The Chiefs were able to regain some confidence on Tuesday night.
“This was a big conference win for us tonight,” said the Lady Chiefs Alyson Reinold. “Tonight’s win has given us a boost of confidence as we move forward.”
“Overall we played a very solid game tonight,” said Kickapoo senior mid-fielder Annalee Arbeitman. “We have an outstanding goalie, in Ari Acuff, and our defensive line is capable of playing some great soccer, as we showed tonight.”
Lily Simphaly-Ragsdale opened up the scoring for the Lady Chiefs, driving the ball in for a goal less than three minutes into the match. Freshman Maddie McLain scored in the 21st minute as Kickapoo led 2-0 at halftime.
But the Lady Chiefs were anything but finished for the night. Kickapoo got two more goals in the second period from Alyson Reinold and another from Serena Boyce as the Chiefs coasted to the 5-0 win.
Chief head coach Phil Hodge says the win has helped to give his team confidence, a team that he feels is still searching for its identity.
“We’re still learning who we are as a team,” said Hodge. “But tonight’s win has gotten us off to a good start in conference play- a win over a district opponent as well. It has to be a confidence builder for the girls.”
Head coach Matt Jernigan felt that his girls had shown a lot of promise despite falling to Kickapoo 5-0.
“The scoreboard really doesn’t matter that much to me,” Jernigan said. “There’s no quit in our girls. They displayed that tonight against a very solid Kickapoo team. They played hard the entire game. I’m very proud of them all. They wouldn’t give up.”
Jernigan, whoose squad is now 4-3 on the year, was especially proud of his goalie, Abbey Schmidt, who he presented with a game ball. “Abbey is just a junior and has only been playing for a couple of years. She made some incredible saves for us tonight- many which made me tilt my head and just wonder how she was able to make so many big plays.”
In junior varsity action Kickapoo downed Lebanon 5-0. Scoring for the Chiefs were Ally Maska, Bailie Robinson and Caroline Ulmer with one each. Jalyn McClean scored twice. The win boosted the JV’s record to 2-0.
