Jackson nips Bulldogs

~ Kelsey Bierman converted the winning penalty kick.

Notre Dame keeper Katherine Blasiney was not too fond of the prospect of taking part in a shootout against Jackson on Wednesday.

Blasiney made that perfectly clear right before the start of the first overtime. While the junior keeper was waiting for the action to begin, she looked back at two Notre Dame junior varsity players standing behind the net and told them that the Bulldogs better score because Jackson players know how to shoot penalty kicks well.

But Notre Dame did not score -- neither did Jackson -- so after two tough, 10-minute overtime sessions the shootout took place.

Blasiney, who has been filling in at goalie because of an injury to the Bulldogs' starter, was pitted against the more experienced Jackson keeper, Morgan Riddick, a third-year varsity starter who has taken part in three shootouts during her career.

Notre Dame's Brianne Sanders races up the field ahead of Jackson defender Kelsey Bierman during Wednesday's game in Cape Girardeau. (KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.com)

Riddick was able to make one save while all five Jackson shooters blasted shots past Blasiney. Jackson won the shootout to prevail at Notre Dame Regional High School.

"I was pretty nervous," Blasiney said. "I had never been on the goalie end on PKs. I know a lot of [Jackson players] and I always know they step up when it comes to PKs. They know what to do when the situation comes."

The first three shooters from both Jackson (6-0) and Notre Dame (5-2) scored during the shootout.

Jackson senior Emily Thompson then kicked one past Blasiney to give Jackson a 4-3 lead.

Notre Dame's Amanda Pleimann took the next shot for Notre Dame. She kicked it to Riddick's left, where the Jackson keeper was able to stay low and scoop it.

Jackson's Kasey Crowden, right, stuggles for the ball with Notre Dame's (18) Wednesday, April 8, 2009, in Cape Girardeau. (KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.com)

"I just try to block everything out and focus on the ball and try to read them," Riddick said about her approach during shootouts. "It's just me and the ball and that's all there is. Read it right and go for it. All or nothing. We've practiced as a team a lot on them. It's just one of those things you need experience on. They can be hard."

With Riddick's save, Jackson maintained its 4-3 edge in the shootout. Jackson junior Kelsey Bierman then stepped up to shoot knowing that if she scored, her team would win.

"The whole time I just thought about placing it in the corner," Bierman said. "I just envisioned my shot going in and it did."

Bierman, who plays defense, knocked her shot past Blasiney into the corner of the net and then sprinted up the field to celebrate with her teammates.

Bierman said that her team practices penalty kicks almost every day at the end of practice.

Jackson senior Katelyn Myracle takes the ball up the field Wednesday.

"We kind of play a game with it," Bierman said. "We even put pressure on ourselves so we're in a gamelike situation."

Bierman knows Blasiney pretty well but was surprised to see her in net. Blasiney, who was a defender to start the season, was switched to goalkeeper when sophomore keeper Brianna Ziegler hurt her arm and has been playing defense with a cast on the arm.

"I've always played against Kat, but she's never played goalie, so it really surprised me when I saw her in goal," Bierman said. "She said, 'Good shot, good shot.' She tried."

The two teams really did not give each other many scoring chances throughout the contest.

"Being so close in distance, it's a big rivalry and every time we come up against each other everybody wants this more than ever," said Katelyn Myracle, who scored one of the shootout goals for Jackson. "This is always our best game. When we came out here, we knew we were going to have to play hard. We knew we had to keep our intensity up."

Blasiney said it's usually tough for either school to score when the two teams play.

"Everybody just brings their game," Blasiney said. "Everybody's just playing real aggressive, so it's hard to get a good shot."

The other shootout goals by Jackson were scored by Kasey Crowden and Bobbi Jo Schlick.

"It's a challenging matchup for us," Notre Dame coach Jeff Worley said about playing Jackson. "So it's a good preparation for us [for districts] and state playoffs]."