CJ's season ends after allowing 3 second-half goals

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. - Carl Junction got out to a 1-0 lead on a short goal from Grace Carrier on Saturday in the Class 3 state quarterfinal matchup with Capital City High School at Carl Junction High School.

The Bulldogs (18-5) got that goal during the 20th minute of the game - halfway through the first half.

"The first half, we played pretty good. We still made some mistakes. We didn't use our head, communication wasn't great. A lot of that is due to the pressure they put on us," CJ head coach Glenn Helms said.

CJ goalkeeper Jadyn Howard continued to rack up saves as the half continued until the Cavaliers finally found an opening at the 4:30 mark.

"We were pretty much playing on our heels for the first little bit, trying to adjust to that heat and everything. And then when they put one on us, it became a little scary," the Cavaliers' head coach Kelsey Hile said.

"But the girls dug deep and we got the result we needed. This was the first time we've actually been behind and came back to win it. ... We pride ourselves in having a champion mentality, and that's exactly what they did. They fought through adversity and they rose above. We eliminated chances and when we got chances, we put them in the back of the net."

Cap City (17-7) added two goals in the first four minutes of the second half to grab a 3-1 lead and went on to win the game 4-1.

A lightning delay at the 16:04 mark of the second half put the contest on hold for more than two hours.

Out of the delay, the Cavaliers added their fourth goal on a shot from Mary Webb into the back right corner past a diving Howard

CJ's goal came on an attack midway through the half that saw a pass lofted high over the Capital City defenders to Carrier as she cut toward the goal right in the center part of the field.

Carrier timed the bounce and was able to get good enough contact on the high bounce to loft it over the Cavaliers' goalie, Ryann Flower, that had left the net just enough for the ball to go over her head and into the goal from about 20 yards out.

Later in the half, CJ's Nevaeh Triplett took a shot on goal with 6:08 to play as she attacked down the right side and drilled the ball right at Flower, which she knocked down and collected for a save.

An attack from the Cavaliers just before that was denied by Howard as Webb took a shot from within 10 yards of the goal that she tried to push to the far side of the goal. Howard read the shot perfectly and dove to her left to deny the goal with her left hand.

The Cavaliers were able to break through with 4:30 to play after a shot on goal clanged the post on the left side. On the rebound, the ball was kicked around multiple times until it found Carter Nelson. She found a gap in the defense and snuck the ball through into the left side of the goal to tie the score.

In the second half, Webb was dribbling to her left as she approached the goal and fired a shot back across her body from 20 yards away that beat CJ's Howard, who was following Webb to the left side.

"It's an extremely difficult angle that she was able to get it on. She's a very special player. That was her 35th goal of the season for us," Hile said.

After a whistle in the box, Cap City got a free kick from near the left corner of the field that Kassidy Loethen lofted up in front of the goal perfectly for her teammate, Braelyn Russell, to head into the back of the net, sneaking right past the head of CJ's Howard to make it 3-1 with 25:59 to play.

"That beautiful ball that Kassidy Loethen sent in to Brae Russell on the header; you can't ask for anything better in a quarterfinal," Hile said.

Helms talked about a foul on his team that set up the opportunity being "unnecessary" because the player was "facing the wrong way" when the foul occurred.

Six minutes later, the Cavs' Webb missed an opportunity to extend the lead as her shot toward the low left corner of the goal rolled wide left from 10 yards.

Eventually, Webb did add her second goal of the day and her team's fourth with 12:01 left to go.

Helms spoke about his team's performance all season to post an 18-5 overall record and claim a district title.

"It's not easy to get this far. There's eight teams left playing today," Helms said. "It's a grind. It's a lot to keep playing hard all season, playing for each other and having fun, and for the most part, they did that."

Cap City's Webb, a sophomore, now has 36 goals on the season.

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