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Franklin
Monroe’s Cora Jeffers makes a kick during a recent game for
the Lady
Jets. FM was eliminated from sectional action Monday, losing
to Newton, 1-0.
CNO Photo by Dale Barger.
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Steck sticks Franklin
Monroe
Lady Jets grounded in 1-0 loss
By George Starks
PITSBURG - It didn’t take anyone long to realize it was going to be a
tight match between Franklin Monroe and Newton in their first round
sectional game Monday at Franklin Monroe.
Many felt as if it would be a difference of one goal that would
determine the final score. After playing each other twice earlier in
the season and splitting the first two matches by very close scores, no
one thought it would be a 1-0 final.
When Newton’s Taylor Steck scored with 7:17 remaining on the first half
game clock, that left plenty of time for Franklin Monroe to get even.
Well over 47 minutes as a matter of fact. It never happened.
“We had more than enough chances to score,” said Jets coach Scott
Howell. “Newton is junior heavy and that helped them. We have a lot of
young kids and it showed tonight. We had good opportunities but our
inexperience showed. You can’t take anything away from them though.
They are very well coached and John White does a heck of a job at
Newton.”
During the regular season, a coach will want his players to play hard
and be aggressive. More often than not, those two elements will get a
team through a game.
When the tournament whistle blows and 20 games are in the books,
playing hard and being aggressive isn’t enough. A team must play smart
and the Jets didn’t do that for 80 minutes in the loss.
“When you give up an ugly shot like we did, it changes the tempo of the
game,” Howell noted. “The pressure was on and we didn’t pick it up.
Their goalie (Grace Heidenrich) is a great goalie and she stopped
everything that came at her and Newton slowed the game down in the
second half and that was smart on their part. With subbing and stalling
in the second half, that was just good coaching and we would have done
the same thing if we were leading. We played hard in the second half
and we stepped it up, we just fell short.”
The Jets finish 7-7-3 on the season.
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