JANESVILLE — A long ball into the box and a delayed decision to award a penalty kick started a stretch of play that foiled Janesville Craig’s girls soccer team Thursday night.
Visiting Sun Prairie East played a pass over the top from the back, and it took a big bounce in Craig’s penalty area between Cougars goalkeeper C.J. Braker and a field player from each team.
The Craig players couldn’t deal with the bouncing ball, and the Cardinals player took some contact and went to the ground.
Initially, the referee called a foul against East and a free kick for Craig (0-3-2, 0-1-0 Big Eight), but after conferring with his assistant referee, he changed his decision to a Cougars foul, giving the Cardinals (3-2-1, 1-0-0) a penalty kick.
East’s Kate Dwyer converted it with a shot right down the middle, the first goal of three scored in a span of eight minutes that gave the Cardinals a 3-0 win over the Cougars.
Before Dwyer’s breakthrough, the teams played a scoreless first half that saw both teams find decent chances to score.
“It felt going into the second half like we really had a chance to win the game,” Craig coach Casey Berg said.
In the 15th minute, Craig won a corner kick that was delivered dangerously into the 6-yard box, but there were no players from either team to meet it. It bounced harmlessly through the penalty area for East to clear it.
The Cardinals had a corner kick of their own shortly after that was sent into the 6-yard box, as well, but East couldn’t get a clean look at goal and Craig eventually dealt with the danger.
The Cougars had one of their best chances of the night in the minutes before East’s penalty.
From the midfield, Craig’s Lily Campbell passed to Grace Brown in stride down the left flank. Brown took the ball toward the corner, cut back to leave a defender behind and fired a low shot on goal to the near post. Cardinals goalie Cari Whetten was equal to the effort, pouncing to make the save.
“We’re getting forward enough to score goals; we just haven’t put the chances away,” Berg said. “It’s on us to increase our quality in the final third a little bit.”
Craig midfielder Bellah Avila also made her presence felt multiple times, finding passes to start or continue attacking moves for the Cougars, dribbling through the midfield, and blocking East shots in the Craig penalty area.
“She’s such a hard-working girl, she’s such a good leader, she never, ever, ever quits, even when she’s playing against girls who are literally twice her size,” Berg said of Avila.
East doubled its lead in the 55th minute. Craig goalkeeper C.J. Braker made one of their four saves on the night on a shot right at them, but the ball caromed back into danger in the box.
East’s Abbie Koziel was the only player to react and lofted a shot over Braker to make it 2-0. The Cardinals’ third goal came on a counter attack in the 58th minute.
Ava Vogler, who formed a dangerous attacking combination with Dwyer throughout the game, controlled the ball just outside the box and sneaked a low shot under a diving Braker to make it 3-0.
“They scored maybe 15 seconds after we had the ball down here, which is what happens when you’re behind,” Berg said. “You start throwing numbers forward, and they countered us pretty good.”
The Cougars had a few shooting opportunities in the second half, but many came from long distance, and Whetten dealt with them easily.
Craig will continue its hunt for its first win of the season at home Monday against visiting Lake Geneva Badger in a nonconference game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“We just have to stick to the game plan,” Berg said. “Stick with it, keep fighting, keep working, trust the results are going to come. It’s hard to do that when you’re losing, but we don’t have a choice.”
SUN PRAIRIE EAST 3, JANESVILLE CRAIG 0
Craig 0 0 — 0
East 0 3 — 3
SECOND HALF
SPE — Kate Dwyer, pk, 50th minute. SPE — Abbie Koziel, 55th minute. SPE — Ava Vogler, 58th minute.
Shots — JC 11, SPE 15. Shots on goal — JC 4, SPE 7. Corner kicks — JC 2, SPE 2. Offside — JC 1, SPE 1.
Saves — C.J. Braker (JC) 4, Cari Whetten (SPE) 4.
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