The spring soccer season came to a close on Sunday, May 18th, just as the sun came out and warmed everything up. It seems like just a few weeks ago we were looking at snow-covered fields and icy winds.
The Club will celebrate the season and award participation medals during closing ceremonies on Monday, June 2nd, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Carlisle Middle School gym.
Here are some of the highlights from the last games of the season:
The u8 Pumas played their last game of the season on Sunday in fine fashion by getting everyone involved, whether it is with their passing or scoring goals. Some of the players who stood out with their outstanding passes were Ashlyn Highland, April Jackson and Zach Hoagland. The tough teammate of the day belonged to Ella Kinter who fell hard on the ground a couple of different times to but just got up and kept right on playing. Goals were scored by a host of Puma players, including Jack Wilson, Megan Sievers, Wyatt Kruse and Jocelyn Haack. Overall, this season was full of smiles and great memories for everyone involved including parents, coaches and especially the players. Go Pumas.
The u8 Jaguars struggled overall during their last game of the season, but displayed moments of brilliance as they passed the ball into space on several plays, resulting in three goals, including goals by Darek Tingle and Sara Langenfeld. Jack Millman continued to progress, finding himself in the middle of the action several times, and Rachel Studer showed more of the hustle that’s marked the second half of her season. In the end, the Jaguars stayed mentally focused and exhibited enthusiasm that will surely reemerge in the fall season.
The U8 Tigers played a good game on Sunday. Austin Black played very well, making several great defensive stops. Tim Black used control and speed to make several runs down the field with the ball. Samuel Overton played very hard, taking a ball to the face twice but came back strong, and scored two goals. Trevor Baker and Noah Niehaus displayed team work and skill while Keaton Walker moved the ball around with ease, scoring several times. Walker also made a very nice pass to Tyler Baker who scored one of several goals. The Tigers played very well as a team this season and improved their soccer skills greatly. Good job
The u8 Cheetahs, under the direction of interim coach Walter Walker, played well in a close game against the Pumas. Coach Lance Kettering and his wife Candy were in the hospital greeting the arrival of their new daughter, Lyla (7 pounds 11 ounces, 20 incheslong!), just after kickoff for the game! Meanwhile, back at the complex, the Cheetahs’ Carolyn Fuentes, Brilynn Jackson and Faith Smith played very hard, made some very nice moves and each scored a goal. Logan Pritchard played tough defense throughout the game. Chris Mangin took a hard hit to the chest but came back and played hard. Alyssa Brown displayed some skill moving the ball up the field. Congratulations to the Cheetahs, and to the Ketterings!
The U12 girls Krazy Kickers played their last game of the spring 2008 season on the road against Northwest. This is the same team the Kickers faced in their season opener at home, winning 3-0 in that match. The Kickers came in wanting to win again. Northwest had the wind at their backs for the first half, expecting it to be a factor working in their favor, but the Kickers have improved all season and rarely allowed Northwest to do much with the ball in this game. Possession was overwhelmingly in the favor of the Kickers who had no problem maneuvering the ball around field. Within the offensive third, however, the Kickers found it problematic to get shots onto Northwest’s goals. Most of the Kickers’ attacks were too direct and Northwest put everyone on their team in front of their goal. Eventually, the Kickers caught Northwest in an indirect play with forward JoJo Haack beating an outside defender to find just enough space to center the ball to forward Jenna Dille, who punched it in with a one touch shot in the 16th minute. The Kickers would score another goal with 30 seconds left in the half, this time countering a Northwest counter attack: defender Hannah Jutting cleared the ball from mid field back onto the offensive third with a perfectly lofted pass to JoJo who was able to wrestle the ball out of the air and chip an impossible shot from a severe angle on goal just over the Northwest keeper’s head. Kickers led at half two-nil.
In the second half, the Kickers continued with their offensive front. The girls got out of shape a little up top in their eagerness to score goals which resulted a dangerously exposed mid field. Eventually Northwest found this opening and routed a ball in on our right side for their first goal of the match with 13 minutes left to play. The Kickers got the hint, pulled Madison Polley back to help defend with a three-girl defense, which was enough to prevent any further goals from occurring. The Kickers would go on to win the match 2-1. This spring, the Kickers finished 6-1-1, outscoring their opponents 23 to 8, with four shut outs and two matches allowing only a single goal. This is the last season for the Kickers playing in the U12 division. They will be competing in three tournaments this June starting with the Kohl’s Cup in Ames, Ankeny Recreational Tournament and Norwalk Invitational. Then the girls move up to play in the U14 soccer in the fall.
The U12 Crush traveled to Johnston for the last game of the season. It was a must win for the Crush if they were to stay in the running for division champs, and they did not disappoint. They started fast with a steal from the Johnston kick-off and a drive to the goal for a shot in the first 15 seconds of play. Two more shots would come within the next minute. Finally, a shot from 20 yards out from Katy Rick would go over the keepers’ head for the first goal of the game. Johnston started to come alive as they answered with a goal of their own and continued to have scoring opportunities in the next five minutes of play, but the defense of Victoria Carra, Ashton Goodhue-Nolte, Amanda Hardin and Sierra Andreas would challenge every attack. And keeper Maddie Roberts saved each shot that got through the defense. Madison Staecker would put in the next goal from a steal in front of the keeper. Johnston would quickly answer back to tie the score 2 - 2. The rest of the half was all Carlisle as they took control. Stoppers Emily Loomis, Alexis Lambson, Taylor Nelson and Jade Gibson would battle to keep the ball on the offensive end were mid fielders and forwards Rick, Staecker, Taylor Whipple, Jessica Payne and Lindsey Kamerick would take over, scoring three more goals. Whipple would score from a nice pass from Staecker and again by again dribbling past four defenders to put a hard shot in the back of the net. Kamerick would score the last goal of the half with a nicely placed shot past the keeper. The half would end with the Crush leading 5 - 2.
The second half was much of the same as the Crush controlled the game through team work and communication. The mid fielders and defense battled to keep the ball on the offensive end which paid off with five more goals. The most impressive part of the half was that every goal was set up from a stop or tackle by the defense or an assist from a teammate. The final goal count would be Whipple with three, Roberts with two, Staecker with two, Rick with two and Kamerick with one. The Crush won 10 - 4.
The Crush also topped their division, and celebrated a team-vs-parents game followed by a pie in the face event were team mentor Valerie Goodhue-Nolte, took most of the punishment saving coaches Jake Whipple and John Kamerick from most of the whipped cream assault. The Crush now set their sites for the Iowa Games in July.