Pioneers lose first game of season
by Mark Mitchell
By Mark Mitchell
mmitchell@mountaintimes.com
Watauga tasted defeat for the first time in its 2010 season, falling 2-0 to Hibriten on Tuesday night in Lenoir. Hibriten dominated the action from start to finish, outshooting Watauga 18-3 on the night.
"They really just took it to us," Watauga head coach Uwe Erlich said. "We were on our heels and had some bad touches. We have a couple of injuries with some people we could have used, but no excuses, we just have some things that we need to work on."
Despite being outshot 6-1 in the opening half, Watauga (3-1, 0-1 Northwestern Conference) kept Hibriten off of the scoreboard until Hallie Hilliard found an opening and fired a shot into goal past keeper Katherine Mayhew with 23:28 left in the first half.
"Katherine (Mayhew) made some good saves, but just had one go between her legs in the first half," Erlich said.
While Hibriten kept up the offensive pressure over the final 23 minutes of play, the Pioneers kept it a one-goal game heading into intermission. Mayhew made five saves in the opening stanza.
The second half was, as Yogi Berra said, "deja vu all over again" as the Panthers controlled the action for a vast majority of the half. Emily Haas replaced Mayhew in goal for the final 45 minutes and made numerous solid saves in keeping the Panthers off the board. Hibriten's Lauren Crouse eventually hit paydirt, scoring a goal with 1:13 left in the game to give the Panthers a 2-0 advantage and eliminate any suspense. The Pioneers best chance for a goal came with 16 minutes left in the game when a Kendyl Baird shot sailed long and left.
Hibriten outshot Watauga 12-2 in the second half, forcing Haas to make six saves, many of them of the diving variety, to keep the contest close.
"Emily (Haas) made some great saves for us in goal in the second half," Erlich said. "Both Katherine (Mayhew) and Emily played well, and we want to give them both some equal playing time, especially early in the season."
Erlich said attitude, and a lack of practice time, may have played a role in the Pioneers' setback on Tuesday night.
"We may have come into the game with a little bit of an attitude that we didn't have to work as hard as we should because of our early success," Erlich said. "The main thing is we just haven't had hardly any practice time on real fields because of the weather. We have been practicing in a gym, and the ball just doesn't roll the same. It's just different. Hopefully, the weather will improve and we will be able to get some practice time in the next week."
mmitchell@mountaintimes.com
Watauga tasted defeat for the first time in its 2010 season, falling 2-0 to Hibriten on Tuesday night in Lenoir. Hibriten dominated the action from start to finish, outshooting Watauga 18-3 on the night.
"They really just took it to us," Watauga head coach Uwe Erlich said. "We were on our heels and had some bad touches. We have a couple of injuries with some people we could have used, but no excuses, we just have some things that we need to work on."
Despite being outshot 6-1 in the opening half, Watauga (3-1, 0-1 Northwestern Conference) kept Hibriten off of the scoreboard until Hallie Hilliard found an opening and fired a shot into goal past keeper Katherine Mayhew with 23:28 left in the first half.
"Katherine (Mayhew) made some good saves, but just had one go between her legs in the first half," Erlich said.
While Hibriten kept up the offensive pressure over the final 23 minutes of play, the Pioneers kept it a one-goal game heading into intermission. Mayhew made five saves in the opening stanza.
The second half was, as Yogi Berra said, "deja vu all over again" as the Panthers controlled the action for a vast majority of the half. Emily Haas replaced Mayhew in goal for the final 45 minutes and made numerous solid saves in keeping the Panthers off the board. Hibriten's Lauren Crouse eventually hit paydirt, scoring a goal with 1:13 left in the game to give the Panthers a 2-0 advantage and eliminate any suspense. The Pioneers best chance for a goal came with 16 minutes left in the game when a Kendyl Baird shot sailed long and left.
Hibriten outshot Watauga 12-2 in the second half, forcing Haas to make six saves, many of them of the diving variety, to keep the contest close.
"Emily (Haas) made some great saves for us in goal in the second half," Erlich said. "Both Katherine (Mayhew) and Emily played well, and we want to give them both some equal playing time, especially early in the season."
Erlich said attitude, and a lack of practice time, may have played a role in the Pioneers' setback on Tuesday night.
"We may have come into the game with a little bit of an attitude that we didn't have to work as hard as we should because of our early success," Erlich said. "The main thing is we just haven't had hardly any practice time on real fields because of the weather. We have been practicing in a gym, and the ball just doesn't roll the same. It's just different. Hopefully, the weather will improve and we will be able to get some practice time in the next week."