Laville, Argos set for rematch
ARGOS — It will be an Argos vs. Laville final one more time as both team set up a championship match with each other, Argos taking an 8-0 win over Culver and in the nightcap Laville beat North Miami 4-0 for the rematch.
Argos 8, Culver 0
It was one of the classic “trap games” people are prone to talk about with the Lady Cavs having one of their best years in a long time coming in at 14-4 and Argos looking to make another deep run in the tournament ranked No. 2 in class 1A.
The Dragons showed no signs of looking past Culver as they dominated the game and the scoreboard in an 8-0 final.
“There is always that chance of being stale,” said Argos coach Joe Stone. “You have to come ready to play and take nobody lightly, it’s winner go home.”
In the end, it was the relentless pressure of the Argos offense that wore down the Cavs and led to multiple opportunities.
“That’s why they are the number two team in the state,” said Culver coach A.J. Neace. “They are a very good ball club. Nine times out of ten they beat us and tonight was one of those nine.”
A big loss for Culver coming in was the loss of senior keeper Sophia Heath. Injured in Culver’s round one win over Rochester, Heath returned to the game twice before being relieved by Freshman Katie Skelton.
Heath suffered two fractured vertebrae and a lacerated kidney.
It put Skelton on the spot and she responded minimizing what could have been a very lopsided score.
“She stepped up when we needed her most,” said Neace. “Katie did a heckuva job. Without a lot of time in the box as a freshman, she steps up in the biggest game of the year and makes a lot of good saves. That game could have been a lot worse without her.”
Argos was far from defenseless themselves as any glimmer of a chance by the Cavs was quickly smothered by the Dragon backline.
Eight different Dragons scored on the night spreading the wealth around.
Stone was proud of his team but still saw room for improvement in finishing scoring ops.
“They are playing really hard and really well,” he said. “We still struggle to finish a little bit. Right now we are just concentrating on getting out of the sectional, but if we get out of sectionals it’s not easy and we have to get better.”
Laville 4, North Miami 0
It was a night of shutouts as Laville took a 4-0 win over North Miami.
“It feels real good to be back in the final,” said Laville coach Dan Pleninger. “This is a habit that we want to have.”
The Lancers took a page from the Argos playbook for game number two.
Lancer keeper Heaylyn Kwiatkowski became a stranger to her teammates on the night as they spent nearly the entire game pressuring the goal in the North Miami end of the field.
“We did a good job of putting pressure on them,” said Pleninger. “They played well defensively in the first half, really disciplined. I think we began to wear them down in the second half and some things opened up for us.”
They started opening up with a goal by Kylie Gorka that would prove to be enough for the win. Lauren Dove added a pair of goals.
“They are a huge part of our offense and they don’t always get a lot of shooting opportunities so it was good to see that,” said Pleninger of his senior forwards. “They work very hard night in night out.
Lauren Tompkins had a goal as well on an assist by Mikalah Kuskye.
Laville (5-5-1) will square off with Argos on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Eugene Snyder Field.
Game one
• ARGOS 8, CULVER 0 at Argos
First half
A - Carleigh Miller 37:24
A - Hannah Trump 34:17
A - Bella Stults 23:03
A - Lauren Mcglothin 13:20 Second half
A - Lillian Hines 38:18
A - Emma Dunlap 33:07
A - Aryanna Allen 27:32
A - Amanda Fajardo 6:17
Game two • LAVILLE 4, NORTH MIAMI 0
at Argos
Second half
L - Kylie Gorka
L - Lauren Tompkins (assist Mikalah Kuskye)
L - Lauren Dove
L - Lauren Dove