The game plan was never to concede possession, yet not all plans go as designed.
Still, with only a select few opportunities, West Jones girls’ soccer made it happen Tuesday night on The Reservation. West Jones down its county rivals South Jones, 4-2, in both team’s Region 5-5A opener.
“It’s a crazy game,” said West Jones head coach Craig Winship. “Sometimes you don’t do what you want, but you still get a good result. I was very pleased with the way our girls played.”
South Jones dominated West Jones in nearly every area, except for the tally of goals at the final whistle.
“It was a typical rivalry game,” said South Jones girls head coach Tony Buckley. “It was very fierce and competitive. And, yes, it was a fight [to the very end]. We out passed them, out shot them, out pressed them but we lost. I get [the game of] soccer, and that happens sometimes.”
For the first 15 minutes Tuesday night, South Jones made West Jones extremely uncomfortable with near misses. Shot after shot sailed just a bit to the left of its intended target. Later, a handball foul by West Jones in the box nearly resulted in a South Jones goal in the 24th minute. The penalty kick by South Jones sailed left too.
Nearly five minutes later, West Jones made good on one of its few opportunities of the first half. Senior forward Anna Grace Gieger’s goal in the 29th minute to give West Jones a 1-0 lead.
And two minutes after that, senior forward Allie James put West Jones up by two goals on a penalty kick following a South Jones’ foul in the box.
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“I think tonight we found a limited number of opportunities and we did great on those,” said Winship. “We had a lot of girls that had to move and play different positions because that’s what the game wanted. I feel like they all stepped up and played well.”
South Jones answered with back-to-back goals to tie the game, 2-2. Senior forward Madison Diers narrowed West Jones’ lead by one with a goal just before the half, and eighth-grade striker Sumer Boyette scored the game’s equalizer eight minutes into the second half.
“It’s always going to be tough when you face South Jones,” Winship said. “No matter who is better, it’s going to be a game fought with heart.”
After a go-ahead goal by freshman forward Bailey James in the 54th minute, West Jones put the game out of reach with a goal in the final three minutes. Junior forward Brianna Carr netted the fourth and final goal for West Jones.
Winship was pleased with how all four West Jones’ goals were scored by different players.
“As a coach that is what you want,” said Winship. “You want balance. You want more than one person doing the work. And I feel like tonight was a team victory.
“I think Tony Buckley would agree; you never want to meet each other in the region opener. But the weather kinda made that happen this year.”
West Jones girls improve to 9-4-1 overall, and 1-0 in Region 5-5A. South Jones falls to 4-5-1, and 0-1 in region play.
