Carroll Charges Past Lady TigersWarsaw sacrificed a battle Tuesday to try and win the war.
The Class 3A No. 8 Lady Tigers had several players out of position in a 2-0 non-conference soccer loss to 3A No. 17 Carroll.
The hosts had multiple players sick or injured, and coach Jon Hoover chose to sit them as a precaution.
He wanted them fresh for Thursday’s match at Northridge that will decide the Northern Lakes Conference champion.
“Losing to Carroll is never a good thing, but we knew coming in tonight that we had to be willing to sacrifice to give us a chance for Thursday,” Hoover said.
Both teams had multiple chances to score in the first half. Abby Steffensmeier’s shot on goal was saved in the 23rd minute, while Delaney Taylor’s attempt in the 27th minute also was stopped.
With no score after the first half, the Lady Chargers’ patience paid off in the second.
Carroll scored two quick goals in the 48th and 50th minutes, both by Kelsi Hoot.
The Lady Tigers had a few more chances to score, but in their haste fired shots directly at the goalkeeper.
Carroll made saves in the 50th, 63rd and 78th minutes.
“We wanted to keep the pace high,” Hoover said. “It was an uphill battle before the game even started with the roster, but Carroll capitalized on that and did a great job.”
Warsaw junior Delaney Taylor took a hard fall after a collision with a Carroll player in the 65th minute, and walked gingerly to the sideline.
Hoover said she landed awkwardly on her knee, and was kept out of the rest of the match as a precaution.
He said Taylor will be good to go for Warsaw’s next match.
Warsaw will travel to Northridge for a match Thursday at 7:15 p.m. Both teams are 6-0 in the NLC and will be playing for the conference championship.
The Lady Tigers had five shots on goal, while Warsaw’s Kaylee Patton was in the net with four saves.
