WATERFORD MILLS – It took a while to get the postseason jitters out of the way, and it was a blue-collar effort. But once Lakeland Christian calmed down, it rolled to a 4-0 win girls soccer win over Lakewood Park Christian Tuesday night at the 1A Bethany Christian Sectional.
The Lady Cougars maintained control of the ball most of the match, and needed to be patient a little longer than anticipated. Junior midfielder Anna Reimink opened the scoring by driving the ball just to the left of center, then rolling a shot across the box into the right side of the net in the 27th minute.
“I think a lot of our beginning of the game was nerves. We had good control of the ball and had good chances, we just didn’t capitalize on them early,” Lady Cougar coach Nat Raber said. “But as long as we play possession soccer and control the pace of the game, we should be all right.”
After intermission and before a light rain made the field a little slick, Jessica Slone put back a rebound off Lady Panther goalkeeper Millie Linnemeier to expand the LCA lead in the 49th minute.
Reimink then added her second goal off a nifty pass from Tori Calizo in the 68th minute. Five minutes later Calizo stole the ball from a Lakewood Park defender deep in Lady Panther territory, and tipped in a rebounding shot.
Reimink and Calizo have handled most of the scoring for LCA this season, and Raber said the duo play in a way that makes their teammates better players.
“Normally when you get stars on teams, they tend to be a little bit selfish with the ball. But they like to distribute as much as they like to score,” he said.
“That’s what’s really neat about these girls, it’s complete team effort. We have people we play to for reasons, but I trust everybody out there to do their job.”
Lady Cougar goalkeeper Brady Gross was never seriously challenged while recording the shutout.
“I love the way our defense played,” said Raber. “We only gave up four shots on goal and all were from long distance.
“I’m very proud of this team and how much they have grown. I hope we got the sectional jitters out of the way this game and can just relax and have fun with the rest of the tournament.”
Lakeland Christian (6-5) will take on Westview in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. Thursday. The Lady Warriors (7-9-1) advanced with a 2-0 win over Central Noble in the opening game of the sectional. The host Lady Bruins take on Elkhart Christian in the second semifinal match.
LAKELAND CHRISTIAN 4,
LAKEWOOD PARK CHRISTIAN 0
LPC 0 0 – 0
LCA 1 3 – 4
LCA – Anna Reimink, 27th minute
LCA – Jessica Slone, 49th min.
LCA – Reimink (Tori Calizo), 68th min.
LCA – Calizo, 73rd min.
Records: Lakewood Park 1-9, Lakeland Christian 6-5
