Indians dance past I-55 competition for title

There were several lessons to be learned Saturday at the I-55 girls soccer tournament at Notre Dame Regional High School:

Comparing scores to predict future success against opponents can be deceiving.

Scoring the first goal can form a huge wave of momentum.

Never fall behind before the national anthem is played.

And probably foremost, never get in the way of a group of girls who need to get ready for prom.

The Jackson Indians presented the latter lesson to House Springs Northwest after they not only won the title, but bought precious minutes of make-up time with a 10-goal- rule victory in their final game.

Just minutes after Erin Mayfield's kick settled into the Northwest goal to complete an 11-1 romp and 3-0 tournament, Jackson players were headed for the parking lot, leaving for their 7 p.m. prom before even getting a glimpse of the championship trophy.

"We're in a hurry," said Jackson goalie Whitney Werner as she got ready to hustle off after she allowed just one goal in three tournament games. "We can go in a good mood."

"We were a little worried because we're running short on time," said Molly Hartmann, who did her part in the early exit with four goals. "We just worked together so we could get it done."

Hartmann also had two goals in a 5-0 victory over Parkway West earlier in the day.

The easy victory over Parkway West -- as well as Central's 4-2 victory over Parkway West on Friday -- that morning made the development with host Notre Dame all the more surprising.

Notre Dame, playing Parkway West on an adjacent field during Jackson's game against Northwest, had the tournament title in its grasp but instead saw its 12-game winning streak end.

In need of at least a 2-0 shutout over Parkway to win the crown, Notre Dame lost 4-0.

Notre Dame finished third in the tournament behind Central (10-9), which ended up 3-0 but lost on a tie-breaker with Jackson. Teams were awarded six points for a victory, three for scoring three goals and one for a shutout. Central and Jackson both finished with 29 points out of a possible 30, but Jackson allowed just one goal in the tournament to Central's two.

Parkway West came into the tournament 11-3-1 but did little right in its losses to Central (10-9) and Jackson (16-2-1). The opening of their game against Jackson was indicative of how the Longhorns' weekend went prior to Notre Dame. Jackson and Parkway opened the day in one of the two 9 a.m. games, and the Indians promptly scored on a Hartmann breakaway 30 seconds into the contest. The game was then halted while the two schools observed the national anthem played at the start of the other game.

"They scored immediately, and they made us stop and listen to the anthem," Parkway West coach Jim Hermann said with a laugh. "It's probably the first time in the history of sports that a team was down 1-0 during the anthem."

It only got worse after Courtney Urhahn and Hartmann added first-half goals for a 3-0 lead. Hartmann and her freshman sister, Lucy, scored in the second half.

In light of the rout, Notre Dame, ranked fifth in Class 1, looked to be sitting pretty. The Bulldogs owned wins over Jackson and Central this year. Notre Dame also was on a roll after beating Northwest 6-0 earlier in the day after a 3-0 victory over Bishop Dubourg on Friday.

But Notre Dame (16-2-1) managed just one good scoring chance in the entire game as Parkway West dominated.

"They came out a lot stronger for our game," said Notre Dame forward Kristen Boos.

Longhorns goalie Jessica Sumner stopped Notre Dame forward Sierra Ellis on a breakaway midway through the first half and the Bulldogs offense was never heard from again. About 10 minutes later Kelly Waeckerle put in a loose ball that bounced away from Bulldog goalkeeper Katie Palmer.

Leading 1-0 at halftime, Parkway West scored three times in the second half.

"I think we surprised a couple of these teams that are watching us play this last game," Hermann said. "That's the real Parkway West. It wasn't what they saw earlier today. It was almost embarrassing."

"Once we got down they got more and more confident as the game went on," Notre Dame coach Jeff Worley said. "And we just got a little frustrated."

Notre Dame finished third in the tournament behind Central (10-9), which ending up 3-0 but lost on a tie-breaker with Jackson. Teams were awarded six points for a victory, three for scoring three goals and one for a shutout. Central and Jackson both finished with 29 points out of a possible 30, but Jackson allowed just one goal in the tournament to Central's two.

Central already had lost the tie-breaker before it played DuBourg. The Tigers won 2-0 behind first-half goals by Kate Miller and Heidi Pilsner. Miller scored at the 24-minute mark off an assist from Pilsner, who scored on a penalty kick 11 minutes later. Megan Kistner made eight saves for the shutout.

Central defeated Wentzville Holt 4-0 Saturday morning. Heidi Pilsner scored two goals, while Ali McGinty and Chelsey Oliver had one apiece.

jbreer@semissourian.com

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