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INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — The Incline High School varsity girls soccer team kicked off the Northern 3A season with an 8-0 win at Dayton on Thursday evening.
Early-game jitters were evident for the first 5 minutes as the Highlanders gave way to an offensive charge from the Dust Devils and an almost certain goal. With senior goalie Sasha Severance out of the goal after stopping a Devils shot just outside the goal mouth, the ball found its way to a Dayton forward and toward the Highlanders' open net.
“I thought it was going to be a goal,” said Incline head coach John Paganelli.
Then from nowhere, sophomore fullback Alexa Smith intercepted the ball just short of the goal line and cleared it to the left side of the field. It would be the last shot on goal for the Dust Devils as the Highlanders dominated the rest of the night on both ends of the field.
For the next 15 minutes the Lady Highlanders could not find the net as shot after shot would find its way to the side or over the top of the goal post.
Paganelli encouraged his team and offensive line to settle down, relax and focus on their shots, and finally at the 20-minute mark junior forward Emily Hanna received the ball from freshmen midfielder Hale Derr. After a number of prior close misses, Hanna attacked the goalkeeper and, once the keeper committed, kept the ball on the ground and to the right of the keeper's outstretched hand.
Thirty seconds later the same combination of Hanna and Derr found the net, and the proliferation of goals was on its way.
The Highlanders entered the half leading 4-0 after goals from midfielders Tori O'Connor (36-minute mark) and Bethany Porten (38-minute mark).
Incline picked up where it left off in the second half, only with a different lineup than the Dust Devils saw in the first half. With Severance being replace by backup goalie Danielle Finnick and occupying the center midfield position, Severance notched the first goal of the second half at the 4-minute mark.
Freshman midfielder Kayla Goldberg scored the next goal at the 10-minute mark to give the Highlanders a 6-0 lead.
Paganelli then switched his defense and brought his sweeper, senior Kelli Cherry, to center midfield and his fullbacks up the wing positions. He wanted to give his alternate defensive players some playing time.
By the 21-minute mark, and two goals by Cherry, who was able to get behind the goalie and tap in two balls on net, Paganelli said it was enough and instructed his team that no more goals could be scored unless they were head balls.
Overall Paganelli was pleased with his defensive line of sweeper Cherry, stopper Mackenzie Peterson and fullbacks Erin Canino and Alexa Smith.
“Except for the first 5 minutes of the game, the defense kept the ball in the offensive end and never allowed any penetration of Dayton's offensive line,” he said.
With four of his field players sidelined with continuing leg injuries, the Highlanders had to play a number of their freshmen crew.
“I thought the freshmen played a huge role in this win,” said Paganelli of Kayla Goldberg, Bethany Porten, Katie Johnson and Haley Derr. He felt that he needed to give them as much game experience between now and before they meet the powerhouses of the Sierra Division in Truckee and North Tahoe high schools.
Early-game jitters were evident for the first 5 minutes as the Highlanders gave way to an offensive charge from the Dust Devils and an almost certain goal. With senior goalie Sasha Severance out of the goal after stopping a Devils shot just outside the goal mouth, the ball found its way to a Dayton forward and toward the Highlanders' open net.
“I thought it was going to be a goal,” said Incline head coach John Paganelli.
Then from nowhere, sophomore fullback Alexa Smith intercepted the ball just short of the goal line and cleared it to the left side of the field. It would be the last shot on goal for the Dust Devils as the Highlanders dominated the rest of the night on both ends of the field.
For the next 15 minutes the Lady Highlanders could not find the net as shot after shot would find its way to the side or over the top of the goal post.
Paganelli encouraged his team and offensive line to settle down, relax and focus on their shots, and finally at the 20-minute mark junior forward Emily Hanna received the ball from freshmen midfielder Hale Derr. After a number of prior close misses, Hanna attacked the goalkeeper and, once the keeper committed, kept the ball on the ground and to the right of the keeper's outstretched hand.
Thirty seconds later the same combination of Hanna and Derr found the net, and the proliferation of goals was on its way.
The Highlanders entered the half leading 4-0 after goals from midfielders Tori O'Connor (36-minute mark) and Bethany Porten (38-minute mark).
Incline picked up where it left off in the second half, only with a different lineup than the Dust Devils saw in the first half. With Severance being replace by backup goalie Danielle Finnick and occupying the center midfield position, Severance notched the first goal of the second half at the 4-minute mark.
Freshman midfielder Kayla Goldberg scored the next goal at the 10-minute mark to give the Highlanders a 6-0 lead.
Paganelli then switched his defense and brought his sweeper, senior Kelli Cherry, to center midfield and his fullbacks up the wing positions. He wanted to give his alternate defensive players some playing time.
By the 21-minute mark, and two goals by Cherry, who was able to get behind the goalie and tap in two balls on net, Paganelli said it was enough and instructed his team that no more goals could be scored unless they were head balls.
Overall Paganelli was pleased with his defensive line of sweeper Cherry, stopper Mackenzie Peterson and fullbacks Erin Canino and Alexa Smith.
“Except for the first 5 minutes of the game, the defense kept the ball in the offensive end and never allowed any penetration of Dayton's offensive line,” he said.
With four of his field players sidelined with continuing leg injuries, the Highlanders had to play a number of their freshmen crew.
“I thought the freshmen played a huge role in this win,” said Paganelli of Kayla Goldberg, Bethany Porten, Katie Johnson and Haley Derr. He felt that he needed to give them as much game experience between now and before they meet the powerhouses of the Sierra Division in Truckee and North Tahoe high schools.
