McPHERSON, Kan. – McPherson High School Varsity Girls Soccer finished their match against Rose Hill Thurs., April 4 with a 2-2 tie.
In the 1st half, the Bullpups scored on a Rose Hill own goal assisted by Keanna Sullivan. Their second goal of the match occurred in the 2nd half, scored by Caitlyn Pearson. The Bullpups had three shots on goal and GK Alyssa Hager had 4 saves.
McPherson Girls Soccer JV lost 2-0.
Remarks from head coach Chris Adrian:
It’s hard to know where to start with this game. Rose Hill are a very good team and have a lot of young talent but our girls were up for the fight [Thursday]. I finally saw the team I have been waiting to see all season. The girls fought through adversity, played with confidence, and just flat out competed. It was so fun to watch. The game got off to a great start when Keanna Sullivan hit a perfect corner kick which deflected off a Rose Hill player and went in. Rose Hill tied the game right before halftime on a great shot from outside the box.
The second half is where things really got exciting. We faced our first real bit of adversity this season when our team captain and best defender Riggs Kuhn was forced off with an injury. For me, adversity always presents opportunity and tonight was a perfect example of that. Addison Shaft was moved back to defense, a position she’s probably not played in years and she did incredible. Raegan Broadus then went from playing a handful of minutes a game to almost the entire second half and she made some big time plays when the team needed it most. Both teams were exhausted in the second half and Rose Hill scored a goal to take the lead with under ten minutes left in the game. No one dropped their heads or looked defeated after the goal. They got right up to the line on the kickoff and immediately put Rose Hill under pressure. With three minutes left in the game, Ellie Bower won a free kick on some great hold up play with the ball. She’s another player that played her best game of the season tonight and really took charge on the field. Up stepped Caitlyn Pearson to take the free kick from a good 30 yards away. For those that don’t know Caitlyn, she’s missed 2 seasons of HS soccer because of two separate ACL injuries. It’s incredible that she’s even out there playing at all. With time running out Caitlyn hit a perfect free kick into the top corner which no goalie in the state would have saved. I can’t tell you how happy I am for Caitlyn to have a moment like that she will remember forever.The team did not let up in OT, they kept pushing for a winner and came really close on a couple occasions. Alyssa Harger made some excellent saves and decisions to keep Rose Hill from scoring and the game ended 2-2. I’m extremely proud of this team and how they played. The girls left it all out there and you could tell they had nothing left in the tank.
