The u13 Krazy Kickers competed in the Johston Soccerfest tournament the weekend of Sept 27 & 28. Their first opponent was a Johnston team several divisions above them in play who had defeated the Kickers in the same tournament a year ago, 7-4. The Kickers (pictured below) out played the Johnston squad despite having only one sub. The strategy was to focus on possession of the ball rather than scoring, especially early in the match, to get Johnston running after the ball , keep the ball in play as long as possible and keep them from utilizing their deep bench of extra players. The Kickers worked this well and after a slow start controlled the tempo of the game. At the beginning of the second half, the game was scoreless, and the girls made a push for goals. This left them exposed on a barrage of Johnston attacks but thanks to the incredible play of defenders Hannah Jutting, Katie Clark, Mik McCaughey and Katie Brown and keeper Taryn Smith, Johnston would be shut out entirely in the game. The Kickers would score the match’s only goal with five minutes left off of a free kick set piece. Attacking mid Madison Polley rifled a wide angle shot threading it through several Johnston defenders and keeper into the net.

The second match would be against another Johnston team, one the Kickers played earlier in regular season and defeated 5-4. However, in this match up, Johnston would have a full squad, including five subs, compared to their original showing against the Kickers in which they had no subs. The Kickers dominated possession again and quickly earned two goals, one off the foot of striker Taylor Piper, with an assist from midfielder Haley Gruber and the other from striker JoJo Haack off an assist from Piper. The Kickers’ midfield ensured this game victory allowing very little to get all the way back to their defenders. That credit goes to outside mids Grace Smith and Marissa Kephart along with defensive mid Big Mak Curiel along with Polley and Gruber.

With two shut out victories, the Kickers earned a slot in the championship round on Sunday, against a much bigger and faster North Polk team who outscored their opponents 9-2 in this tournament. The Kickers’ kickoff was well placed and almost became a goal scoring opportunity. It ended up becoming a corner kick, one of seven earned this game by Carlisle. The Kickers dominated the entire game possessively allowing very little offense to erupt in their defensive third. However, North Polk’s weapon was in an incredibly fast forward who would score with five minutes left in the first half off of a break away down the center of the field. The Kickers were still mentally in this game to win it. The start of the second half and domination of possession was still favoring Carlisle. North Polk’s fast forward again broke loose for another score, putting the Kickers behind 2-0 with 20 minutes left in game. In spite of having only one sub the entire tourney, it wasn’t Carlisle that was getting tired. North Polk had several players desperately in need of replacement. Carlisle worked this to their advantage and ran North Polk ragged. After five minutes of exhausting play, North Polk won a throw in and an opportunity to get fresh players back in the game. With five minutes left in regulation, North Polk would score a third goal, a hat trick for their fast forward, and they would go on to win the championship.

Kickers’ coach Paul Gruber described this as the best game they’ve ever played and the smartest strategy they’ve successfully executed. “They earned several statements of praise from opponents’ coaches including the Bondurant coach who is also the head girls coach for Bondurant High School,” says Gruber. “The fact that he would seek out the Kickers to talk to me about how impressed he was with Carlisle speaks volumes of how far this group of girls has come along.

“In just over a year they’ve gone to never winning a match to almost winning a tournament championship. And they’re doing it with the extra challenge of only having a single sub this season. They are the Ironwomen of girls’ soccer,” Gruber added.

Here are other highlights from league play this weekend:

U8 Division
The u8 Cool Cats took to the field with excitement and worked very well as a team on Sunday, September 28th. Sara Langenfeld played a great defensive game blocking several shots on goal. She also scored two nice goals. Brylin Jackson stopped several attacks on the goal then worked the ball down field very well. Josie Nordhagen and Keaton Walker used great team work and ball control to work their way down field with Keaton assisting Josie to score the goal. Baylee Vanpatten got into the mix with her cat-like speed and great ball control, making a nice run down field and scoring a goal. Madison Dahrr showed grate team spirit by assisting her team mates and stopped several counterattacks down the field.

The u8 Killer Cougars had a size and experience advantage in their game Sunday, so they were challenged to work on crossing skills introduced during the previous two weeks. They were to work on bringing the ball up the sides on the offensive end before passing to an open teammate in front of the goal. They successfully “crossed” the ball throughout the game, and assists were earned by Samuel Overton (1), Carson True (2) and Jack Wilson (3). Each player on the team – including Jonathan Kamerick, Wyatt Kruse and Logan Niehaus scored goals in this game and Wilson wowed the crowd by clearing the ball off the line and out of danger.

The u8 White Tigers had another successful soccer game where every player on the team scored a goal. Ashlyn Highland scored her goal with authority from the left side of the field off a long pass from Megan Sievers. April Jackson also had a good solid goal by winning the ball from the defender and making a quick shot on goal. Kirsten Brown collected a loose ball in front of the White Tigers goal and put it in the back of the net with authority. Kirsten had the biggest smile on her face, one that will be remembered by the coaches, players and fans for a long time. These big smiles are the biggest reason the players and coaches enjoy the game. Cameron Mesecher scored her goal by being in the right place at the right time. Megan Sievers also added a couple of goals with her nice dribbling through defenders. It is quite an accomplishment for every player on the team to score a goal at some point during the game. This is a sign that the team is starting to play together as a team rather than each player individually trying to provide the offensive and defensive punch.

U12 Division
The u12 Roadrunners faced Winterset at home, and the game started off well with Carlisle keeping the ball pushed up the field for most of the first half. Midfielder Andrew Pech had an assist with an excellent cross to forward Josh Fisher who one-touched it into the goal. The half would end with only one shot on our goalie. Score 1-0.

In the second half, Pech would earn another assist getting the ball to forward Alex Felger who tapped it in with the inside of his left foot. Winterset seemed to be pushing up the field more this half giving goalie Luke Cooper the opportunity to make three saves. This could have been worse but defender Mason Mumm (pictured, right) kept getting the ball out and driving it all the way up field. One of these times he would lift it over the goalie and find the back of the net. On another occasion Mumm would get an assist as he sent the ball to the middle of the field at the 18 yard line only to have forward Fischer tap it in the goal. Winterset would answer back with a cross to their forward who one-touched it in. A quick transition play where their star player made it through our defense for a one-on-one with the goalie would give them their second goal, but Carlisle held them off the rest of the way for a final score of 4-2