Scoring flurry keeps Central women’s soccer hopes alive
PELLA—The Central College women’s soccer team did its part to extend its season with a one-sided 6-0 shutout of Buena Vista University Tuesday.
Closing the regular season with a 9-7-1 record, the win improved the Dutch to 3-5-0 in American Rivers play but still needed some help entering evening action to secure a spot in the six-team league tournament which opens Saturday.
“We’ve done our job and we’ll find out later tonight,” coach Mike Kobylinski said.
The first part of the equation was never in serious doubt. Central held a monstrous 52-1 shot advantage over Buena Vista (1-15-0 overall, 0-8-0 conference) and used 29 players in the contest. Midfielder Abby Frey (sophomore, Mesa, Ariz., Desert Ridge HS) assisted on a pair of goals in less than a 2-minute span to put the Dutch up 2-0 at 13:57 in the first half. Forward Grace Coates (freshman, Marion) notched a team-high eighth goal in her rookie season and midfielder Kaitlyn Isom (sophomore, Phoenix, Ariz., Horizon Honors HS) scored her first.
Midfielder Amber Santana (freshman, Indio, Calif, .Shadow Hills HS) came off the bench to record her first two-goal game. She connected at the 36:36 mark with an assist from freshman Kayla Koch (Waterloo, Columbus Catholic HS) to make it 3-0 at halftime, then added an unassisted tally at 55:04.
Koch also assisted on the first collegiate goal by freshman midfielder Lily Bardwell (Waukee) at 80:58 and forward Rachel Daniels (junior, Geneseo, Ill.) finished the scoring, maneuvering her way from near midfield at 87:10 to strike with an unassisted goal, her third of the year.
Kobylinski saw a lot of the team’s reserves and was encouraged.
“I thought they were fantastic,” he said. “Amber Santana came off the bench, nicked two goals and also hit the post. I thought she was great. And a couple other players came off the bench and attacked on defense to keep the shutout, which I was happy with, and they also added to the scoresheet.”
It was a relaxing afternoon for goalkeeper Sheila Horstmann (junior, West Des Moines, Valley HS). She made a save on the only Buena Vista shot to preserve the team’s eighth shutout of the year, four shy of the school season record
Kobylinski credited the team’s back line for easing Horstmann’s workload.
“I thought our team shape was well-executed,” he said.
Defender Sydney Canney (senior, Adel, ADM HS) is the team’s lone senior so Kobylinski said experiencing league tournament play would be valuable for the young Central squad. But if given the opportunity, the Dutch want to do more than show up.
“It’s try to win one and move on to the next,” Kobylinski said. “We’re getting some players back healthy. It was a really tough two-week stretch when we were without about four starters. But we have some of them back and that has helped.”
He likes the way the team is trending.
“Being young, I thought our captains Sydney Canney and Bridget Lynch (junior, Northglenn, Colo., Jefferson Academy HS) did a phenomenal job of getting the team together and keeping them locked in,” Kobylinski said.
