Set piece goals lead Lady Rams past Hot Springs
While sophomore Mckenna Wright did notch a late, second-half hat trick, it was two goals from set pieces that separated Lakeside from Hot Springs in the Lady Rams’ 5-0 win at Chick Austin Field Friday night.
Lakeside (13-4, 11-1 5A-south) had trouble combining with its usual offensive rhythm early in the first half. Wright and freshman Lauren Latham created looks at goal in the 18-yard box, but the Lady Rams could not find the magic to hit the back of the net.
Instead of one of Lakeside’s usual young stars getting the Lady Rams on the board first, it was a senior connection on a corner from Annelise Mcalister that found the head of Lalita Fry to give Lakeside a 1-0 advantage with just under seven minutes to play in the first half.
“Sometimes that’s how it works,” Lakeside head coach Craig Moses said. “When your top goalscorers are not performing or not executing, we’ve got to have other people step up. … Sometimes you’ve got to come up with the goals any way you can get them.”
The Lady Rams struck again through a second senior connection on senior night.
Mcalister floated another corner kick into the box, and this time it was Ryleigh Moses who leapt over a defender and powered her header into the goal with 23 minutes left in the game.
“They were two good corners by Annelise and two good headers,” Moses said. “I thought defense played well. I thought defense gave us a chance to win.”
The feel of the match changed when Hot Springs’ Diana Luna got tangled with a Lakeside player just outside the Lady Trojans’ box. Luna landed awkwardly and was clearly injured.
Athletic trainers and coaches surrounded Luna and supported her head and body on the field while waiting for an ambulance to arrive before she was put on a stretcher and transported out of the stadium.
“First half was 1-0, second half was 2-0,” Hot Springs head coach Heidi Springsteen said. “Honestly we had a lot of attacks as well in the second half. I thought we could put a goal in and then maybe change the momentum a little bit. But our player got hurt, and my girls still wanted to finish the game. They were feeling a little emotional after seeing their player go out like that.”
Just a few minutes after Luna left the field, Hot Springs (5-8-2, 5-5-2) was called for a handball in the penalty area, and Wright slotted the ball home for a 3-0 Lakeside edge.
With 6:32 remaining on the clock, Wright collected the ball at the top of the box, turned to face goal and hit a shot along the ground. The Hot Springs goalkeeper got a leg to the shot, but the ball trickled over the line for a 4-0 Lady Rams’ advantage.
The sophomore completed her hat trick a minute and a half later when she won a penalty kick after dribbling past defenders and got tackled from behind in the box.
Converting her own kick from the spot, Wright put the ball in the bottom right corner to set the final.
“There at the end, they kind of started falling in for us a little bit, plus we had two PKS,” Moses said. “Here’s the thing, all you’ve got to do is win by one point. One of those headers would’ve worked. Then we just hold out on defense. Luckily we kind of got going and got some points on the board.”
Hot Springs found it hard to create any rhythm offensively and did not connect many passes in the attacking third during the match.
“(Lakeside) had wonderful pressure up front,” Springsteen said. “I think my defense did a great job holding. One thing we weren’t doing was pushing up as a unit. We were kicking it a little too far up then we couldn’t actually thread those passes in the middle. Once we started to move it through the middle, I think we were doing a good job with that.”
Despite the tough result Friday, Springsteen praised her team for securing a berth to the state tournament. The Lady Trojans earned the No. 3 seed from the 5A-south and will take on
the No. 2 seed from the 5A-east at 9 a.m. Thursday in El Dorado.
“We had a great season,” Springsteen said. “I just continue to see the girls grow. Last year was the first time the girls had ever even won a conference game, and now this year they’ve made it to state. So we’re pressing on to state.”
Lakeside finished the season with the same conference record as El Dorado at 11-1, but the Lady Rams will head into the state tournament as the No. 2 seed from the 5A-south. They will take on the No. 3 seed from the 5A-east at 1 p.m. Thursday in El Dorado.
While Wright and Latham will be the main danger for the Rams up top during the state tournament, Friday showcased Lakeside’s threat all over the field.
“It’s very important (for anyone to be able to score),” Moses said. “You’re going to be looking for goals from anybody. One goal is going to be able to win a game for you. … That’s the name of the game when you get to that level. You’re not going to sit there and score five or six goals on that quality of players. It gets a little bit tighter.”