Kelly girls soccer team loses 3-0 in first varsity game in program history

BENTON, Mo. -- Following the first varsity girls soccer game in school history, Kelly coach Lance Powers has something to build on.

Kelly played visiting Sikeston to a 1-0 game at the half and eventually fell 3-0, but the first-year coach couldn't have asked for much more.

"I'm proud of them. Real proud of them," Powers said. "It could have been real easy for them to lay down, especially there in the second half. To come out and play them 1-0 in the first half, that's something to hang your hat on."

Sikeston's Kylie Noe, Larysa McClellon and Torrie Helms each scored a goal. Keeper Madeline Witt recorded the shutout.

"For the most part we were able to have most of the possession, especially in the second half," Sikeston coach Gabe Dement said. "We started talking, working the ball around and getting a lot of chances."

Kelly's Maegan Walker tracks down a ball against Sikeston during Friday's game at Kelly High School.

Sloppy field conditions lessened both team's effectiveness on a chilly night at Kelly High School. Kelly played its inaugural game on the same field its football team played it's first varsity game almost seven months ago.

"I thought Kelly battled and played hard," Dement said. "Several of their girls are friends with our girls and I've seen them play growing up. I knew they were going to have a few skilled players, and when they were able to work it through them they were able to possess a little bit."

Sikeston, who also played its season opener, dominated possession from nearly start to finish but the muddy field led to slips, falls and made longer possessions difficult to handle.

"I will say, this field is a little sketchy on touches," Dement said. "Both teams were slipping and sliding around trying to plant and play ball. That made it a little more difficult to hold the ball for very long. You make a couple passes, you slip and the possession's over."

Despite the struggles, Sikeston pelted Kelly's defense with 31 shots -- 18 on goal. Kelly had three shots.

"That's what we're going to run into a lot. We're going to be chasing the ball a lot until we figure out what it's going to take to win the ball and flip the script from offense to defense quickly," Powers said.

Though Sikeston spent most of the game pushing toward Kelly's goal, it didn't find the back of the net until the 36th minute in the first half.

Noe, a freshman who later added two assists, launched an arcing shot from nearly 40 yards away over the top of Kelly's backup goalie Taylor Crank and just under the crossbar to give Sikeston a 1-0 lead.

"She has the ability to shoot the ball from anywhere 35 [yards] and in," Dement said about Noe. "Her first varsity game as a freshman she had a goal and two assists. Can't ask for much more from her, but I expected that from her. She's a tough, hard worker with a great shot. I'm not surprised."

McClellon didn't allow Sikeston to wait much longer for its next goal out of the break. Just 50 seconds into the second half, the sophomore received a pass from Noe and punched in the short goal to give Sikeston a 2-0 lead.

With 13:30 left in the game, Helms drilled in a close goal off a corner kick from Noe to round out the scoring.

"We got that early goal from Larysa and that kind of opened things up for us," Dement said. "Once we started communicating and having fun, the game changed a little bit and we had chance after chance."

Kelly's scoring chances took a big hit just two minutes into the contest. Senior forward Samantha Ratledge was taken out of the game after trying to go with a leg injury. She tried returning to start the second half but was quickly pulled again.

"We have to get her back on the mend as quick as we can," Powers said. "She's part of our offense. She's so explosive. Not having her on the field was big for us."

The injury bug hit before the game even started when senior keeper Shanda Reed was pulled due to an allergic reaction and replaced with Crank.

"We're a little banged up," Powers said. "We had to throw our freshman goalkeeper in there. I'm real proud of Taylor Crank. She stepped up and did a good job.

"We're young and the program's young," Powers added. "Everybody is starting to learn soccer a little bit more. It's going to take a little bit of time, but tonight is a good night to build on."

Kelly returns to action Monday at Perryville. The Hawks' next home game is against Central on Tuesday.