Both coaches thought there were good chances to add to their scoring totals, but in the end, Rochester and Springfield High played to a 1-1 tie in a girls soccer game at Lee Field on Thursday.
In a recent change to Central State Eight Conference rules, ties are now allowed, and Rochester senior Mary Jane Keller’s improbable shot in the 50th minute saw to a CS8 tie, a big achievement to hand SHS its first conference blemish.
“I was looking for a cheeky little shot,” Keller said of her shot from perhaps 25-yards away. “I knew that the wind was in our favor, so I was like, ‘Might as well take a chance.’ It’s better than not shooting it at all.”
Springfield High, which finished third in last year’s Class 2A state tournament and returned a bulk of that talent, now sits at 11-1-1 and 6-0-1 in the league. Rochester is 7-4-2 overall and 4-1-1 in the CS8.
In the first half, Springfield High had a brisk wind at its back, and sophomore Addi Maddox gave the Senators a 1-0 lead with a goal past Rochester keeper Grace Webb. But Webb, who had 12 saves, kept the Senators within reach, with heady plays in both halves.
Meanwhile, Springfield High coach Pat Phillips thought his team had opportunities to add to its lead before halftime.
“It’s just one of those games where you don’t come — I don’t think — really inspired to play,” Phillips said. “Rochester took it to us… to their credit. But if we don’t give our best effort, that’s what can happen.”
Maddox agreed, sounding more like a coach rather than a sophomore.
“I think the first half we didn’t come out strong enough,” Maddox said. “We came out slow. We came out unenergetic. We just were kind of not … connecting.
“We weren’t finding feet, but we had more opportunities on goal, which I think is something that we should have capitalized on more; definitely finishing our opportunities rather than not, obviously. I think after the first half we kind of got the idea that like we need to step up our game and we did (to start the second half) and then (Rochester) scored and then we just kind of went back down, and it’s unfortunate.”
The goal was Maddox’s 12th of the year, 16 shy of team leader Kamryn Hoffman, who provided the assist. The wind at Lee Field was unrelenting, and combined with the noise from traffic on the frontage road and Interstate 55 and parents, it can be a very difficult environment in which to focus, Maddox said of the SHS home field. But when she had the opportunity, she said she knew to concentrate.
“I mean, it’s so easy to go over the goals here,” Maddox said. “It’s just everything is so overstimulating: the wind, the noise, other people, parents, you know. I’m just trying to find a corner.”
If SHS can make another deep run in the Class 2A postseason, Maddox said Thursday’s tie might be the wake-up call the Senators needed.
“We definitely will be regrouping after this,” Maddox said. “We will probably talk about it tonight, go over a few things that we need to work on. We’re a very connected team. We talk about a lot of things, whether that’s soccer or really anything. That’s what I love is so much chemistry. We’re definitely going to come back stronger.”
Keller, a senior who will play soccer at Ball State University, scored her sixth goal, and coach Evan Burke said she helped reinforce the Rockets’ belief that they’re capable of finding ways to rally.
“We’ve been trying to find kind of that right chemistry, and as far as if we give up a goal, so what? I think after the last couple weeks and some of the results we’ve had there, I think we know if we go down early, it’s not that big a deal,” Burke said.
“We can come back and find the players that we need to find and try to execute all the chances we have.”
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Keller dials long distance as Rochester soccer keeps Springfield High in knots
Reporting by Ryan Mahan, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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