(Frank McKiel)
MANITOU SPRINGS — When Manitou Springs midfielder Kaity Vogel lines up to take a penalty kick, she becomes a creature of habit. Prior to taking her shot, she takes aim the back-left corner of the goal, which is exactly how she gave the Mustangs a 1-0 lead over St. Mary’s.
The score would hold up and Vogel, a sophomore, gave her senior teammates something they had yet to experience in their time with the Mustangs, a win over the rival Pirates.
(Frank McKiel)
The cross-town rivals battled through a scoreless first half that saw St. Mary’s get several chances to get the ball into the net. Forward Emily Loof had the best chance for the Pirates as she gained possession of the ball in front of the net off a corner kick. Her shot attempt couldn’t clear traffic in front of the Manitou goal and was eventually cleared.
In the second half, the Mustangs grew tired of allowing the Pirates to control the ball and took the attack, which helped lead to a much-needed win. The Mustangs were the victims of a 6-0 beat down at the hands of Holy Family on Wednesday and they knew that a win before a week off during spring break could drastically change the outlook on their season.
“I was telling (St. Mary’s coach) Greg (Braha) that I think we needed this more than they did and that they’re going to be fine,” Manitou coach Mike Fox. “This is great momentum for us after struggling a little bit early.”
The see-saw battle prevented either team from taking a clear advantage through most of the contest. A break finally came with 19:56 remaining in the game when Vogel was fouled within the goal box, allowing the Mustangs to take the penalty shot, which led to the only goal scored in the game and the biggest win of the Mustangs’ young season.
“I think we finally worked together,” Vogel said. “Holy Family was a really good game for us to learn from and we just came out as a team and really wanted it. They’re our rivals. It felt amazing.”
The loss for the Pirates is the first on the year. Through the first two games of their season they had been outscoring their opponents 20-0. Braha said that Manitou was a tough team to face, but the Pirates were without five players for various reasons which saw them bring only nine varsity players to the game.
(Frank McKiel)
“It’s all a process for us. We’ve played a league game very early but you want your non-league opponents to get you ready for your league and your league opponents to help you build for the playoffs,” Braha said. “In our case, we use our non-league opponents to help us get ready for state playoffs and you want to play these tough teams.”
The Pirates came into the season as one of the favorites to contend for a state title, but in their desire to succeed down the stretch, they have to go through a schedule that will force them to overcome adversity.
“They felt like their backs were against the wall, I think we haven’t been stressed yet,” Braha said. “Our team doesn’t know what it feels like to be in this kind of game yet, but now they do.”
Both teams will return to action Apr. 1 when each school returns from their spring break vacation.