by Niki Cunningham
Sports Editor
ereporter: Bob Nielsen
High School girls’ soccer is back in town, as the Oroville Tigers (4-4) braved the weather to play the Lassen Grizzlies (2-5-1). The two teams met earlier this year in Oroville, where the Tigers won from a converted corner kick. This time, however, Lassen jumped on top right away. Right forward Francis Lopez took a loose ball from the midfield and sent it into the penalty box. Center forward Jenna Monahan won the ball, touched it into space, and put a hard shot past the Oroville keeper to give Lassen the lead in the opening minutes of the game.
Lassen moved the ball around the field by well controlled touches around the defenders. Center midfielder Claira Schwab and stopper Brianna Ashmore made some excellent passes to keep the ball in Lassen’s possession. Oroville just couldn’t quite seem to get much going when they did get the ball, leaving Lassen with a real attacking advantage. One attack went wide of the goal, but right forward Isabell Tyler chased it down before it crossed the end line. She put it back towards the top of the defense. Monahan went to it with her back to the goal, and in one quick motion turned and shot the ball past a couple of defenders and the keeper, making the score 2-0.
With the game under control, Lassen brought in many younger players to get them ready for the season. The younger team worked hard to keep up with the high standard of play set by the starters, and when halftime was called, Lassen had a half of shut-out soccer. During the half, Oroville made some adjustments, and began to put more pressure on the Lassen defense. Led by central defenders Brenna Mendonca, Lassen pushed the ball outside and up field. One of the clearances did not quite make it out, and an Oroville player sent a long, floating cross towards goal. The ball was deceptively long and was misjudged by both teams. Instead of going to a teammate, it dropped between top of the keeper’s outstretched hands and the bottom of the crossbar, making the score 2-1.
Smelling a tie, Oroville stepped up the pressure, and the Lassen defense looked like they might just concede another goal. However, under the leadership of Mendonca and Ashmore, the defense tightened up, and the midfield began making better use of each possession. The Grizzlies showed of their good conditioning, and began to outrun the Tiger’s defense. This produced many close calls on goal, but the whistle ended the fun with Lassen up 2-1, and the Grizzlies celebrated their first home victory of the season.
Head Coach Jim Ayers congratulated them on their team effort, noting their vast improvement from last season, as well as their first game of the season (also against Oroville). In this game, every healthy player got some playing time. With one last pre-season game scheduled on Jan 6th in Oroville, the Lady Grizzlies are getting close to the form they will need to be competitive in league this year.
