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MCHS girls soccer falls 4-1 after ‘sleepy’ 1st half

Joshua Gordon
MCHS senior Justine Hathhorn, right, fights with a Battle Mountain defender for the ball Thursday at Woodbury Sports Complex. The Bulldogs were not able to contain the Huskies in the first half and fell 4-1.
Joshua Gordon

Results

Box score from the Moffat County High School girls varsity soccer team’s game Thursday against Battle Mountain High School:

(Team — 1st half — 2nd half — final)

Moffat County — 0 — 1 — 1

Battle Mountain — 4 — 0 — 4

MCHS leading scorers:

(Name — goals)

Kelly Ciesco — 1

Results

Box score from the Moffat County High School girls varsity soccer team’s game Thursday against Battle Mountain High School:

(Team — 1st half — 2nd half — final)

Moffat County — 0 — 1 — 1



Battle Mountain — 4 — 0 — 4

MCHS leading scorers:



(Name — goals)

Kelly Ciesco — 1

An early deficit Thursday stopped the Moffat County High School girls varsity soccer team from mounting a comeback, as they fell to Battle Mountain High School, 4-1.

The Huskies (3-4 overall, 2-4 Western Slope League) jumped on the Bulldogs and scored all four goals in the first half at Woodbury Sports Complex.

The Bulldogs’ (1-3 overall, 0-3 WSL) head coach Harry Tripp said his team came out “sleepy” in the first half.

“I’ve said this many times, but I don’t want us to be a second half team,” Tripp said after the game. “We always have to claw our way back in the second half, and that is not good.”

Junior Kelly Ciesco scored the only goal for the Bulldogs with about 20 minutes left in the second half.

Ciesco dribbled through numerous Battle Mountain defenders on her way to the goal.

Tripp said the halfbacks need to play the entire game like Ciesco’s scoring sequence.

“We need more dribbling, more passing and more talking,” he said. “I don’t know if we have to up our tempo in our warm-ups, but I don’t want to be the coach who yells to get them pumped up, they should be able to pump themselves up.”

In the second half, the Huskies only got about three shots on goal, giving the Bulldogs more time with the ball, Tripp said.

“I think our defense really was the difference in the second half,” he said. “They stepped up and cleared the ball and our mid-fielders were able to pass the ball well from that.”

An apparent goal by sophomore Rose Howe was called off late in the second half after a penalty kick that would have put the score at 4-2.

The initial shot by Howe bounced off the left goal post and rebounded back to her for a second chance opportunity, which she capitalized on.

After the officials initially called it a good goal, they collaborated at mid-field and called off the goal.

It was determined on a penalty shot rebound, the ball must touch another player before the player who took the penalty shot can score.

Senior halfback Justine Hathhorn said she was happy with her team’s effort despite the loss.

“We didn’t give up in the game,” she said. “We are a second half team, but we are trying to be a first and second half team.”

Hathhorn said the second half seems to be when the Bulldogs get their second wind.

Instead, she said, the team needs to be on top of things the entire game.

“We have to go in with the right mindset and know what we are going to do,” she said. “We had some good passes and some good through balls, we just have to do that all game.”

The Bulldogs will host Delta High School at 4 p.m. today at Woodbury Sports Complex.

Delta beat MCHS, 3-1, in the Bulldogs’ season opener on March 12.

Tripp said he thinks his team has a great opportunity ahead of them today.

“I talked to the team after the loss (Thursday) and I’ll talk to them again before the game (today),” he said. “If we go in with an up tempo and play like we did against Battle Mountain, I think we will win.”

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