Lady Cougars Advance To Title Match
October 11, 2019 at 3:57 a.m.
Lady Cougars Advance To Title Match
By Anthony Anderson-
Not that they care much about that stuff, either.
“There is just no rivalry whatsoever with those two,” LCA coach Nat Raber insisted after each sister netted two goals in their team’s 4-0 Class 1A Westview Sectional girls soccer semifinal victory over ECA.
Jessi, a sophomore, improved to 21 goals on the season, while Tori, a senior, upped her total to 20. They own 41 of the Cougars’ 51 goals as a team.
Further, with Tori recording 11 assists and Jessi nine so far, the sisters are exactly even in points at 51.
“They bask in each other’s glory,” Raber said. “If one’s scoring, the other one’s happy. They’ve been taking turns all year. “Some games, it’s Tori, some games it’s Jessi. I’m just glad they’re on my team.”
“We may have some rivalry about us in some things,” Tori confessed, “but it’s all in fun. We both enjoy messing around with each other, but that kind of dynamic helps us on the field. It’s just fun to play this sport and it’s fun to be with each other, and that helps us.”
Jessi Calizo scored Thursday’s first goal just 6:12 into the game on an isolation curl move that freed her for a 10-yarder.
Tori Calizo added the middle two goals as LCA stretched its lead to 3-0 before halftime. The first came from 18 yards out on an assist from Liza Schmitt and the second on an assist from Jessi. The younger Calizo capped the scoring midway through the second half when she weaved inside a defender to take Avery Hobbs’ long free-kick grounder up the middle and put it in. Jessi could’ve had at least a couple more goals on the night if not for multiple one-on-one point-blank saves by Eagle goalie Peyton Badskey.
“We got some good through balls and some nice one-on-one with the keeper,” Raber said. “I wish we would’ve finished a little more early to make it easier, but our defense held together pretty well.”
Raber said he figured the Cougars would get some one-on-one chances because “we knew they were going to play a high back line. It’s the second time we’ve played them (LCA also won the first meeting, 2-0 four weeks ago). I would have liked to see some of those through balls go a bit wider so the keeper couldn’t come out to get ’em, but you can’t argue with 4-oh.”
The Cougars (10-4-1) earned their sixth shutout of the season.
“I challenged our center defensive mids to step up and take away any chances in the middle of the field,” Raber said of juniors Joy Hanes and Hannah Starrett. “I don’t think we gave up any prime scoring chances, and that was primarily those two. Avery (LCA’s junior sweeper) has been great all year and Finley (Hobbs, a freshman), has been solid as a goalie, but those center mids really showed up to play tonight and that was awesome.”
Next up for the defending champion Cougars in Saturday’s 7 p.m. sectional final will be 1A No. 16-rated Bethany Christian.
The Bruins (15-2) blanked Lakewood Park 3-0 in Thursday’s first semifinal. They also beat LCA 3-0 in an Aug. 20 regular-season meeting.
“We’re going to have to contain some good offensive players,” Raber said of the rematch, specifically citing Bethany senior Caroline Cartme. “She scored all three on us the first time, so we have to contain her. Then we have to make sure we’re crisp with our passes and take advantage of our chances. We can’t waste any in that game.”
The Cougars will enter the title contest with a 6-1-1 record over their last eight outings, the only loss a 2-0 decision against 1A No. 5-rated Argos. The Bruins, meanwhile, are 14-1 in their last 15, their only blemish also being 2-0 against Argos.
Not that they care much about that stuff, either.
“There is just no rivalry whatsoever with those two,” LCA coach Nat Raber insisted after each sister netted two goals in their team’s 4-0 Class 1A Westview Sectional girls soccer semifinal victory over ECA.
Jessi, a sophomore, improved to 21 goals on the season, while Tori, a senior, upped her total to 20. They own 41 of the Cougars’ 51 goals as a team.
Further, with Tori recording 11 assists and Jessi nine so far, the sisters are exactly even in points at 51.
“They bask in each other’s glory,” Raber said. “If one’s scoring, the other one’s happy. They’ve been taking turns all year. “Some games, it’s Tori, some games it’s Jessi. I’m just glad they’re on my team.”
“We may have some rivalry about us in some things,” Tori confessed, “but it’s all in fun. We both enjoy messing around with each other, but that kind of dynamic helps us on the field. It’s just fun to play this sport and it’s fun to be with each other, and that helps us.”
Jessi Calizo scored Thursday’s first goal just 6:12 into the game on an isolation curl move that freed her for a 10-yarder.
Tori Calizo added the middle two goals as LCA stretched its lead to 3-0 before halftime. The first came from 18 yards out on an assist from Liza Schmitt and the second on an assist from Jessi. The younger Calizo capped the scoring midway through the second half when she weaved inside a defender to take Avery Hobbs’ long free-kick grounder up the middle and put it in. Jessi could’ve had at least a couple more goals on the night if not for multiple one-on-one point-blank saves by Eagle goalie Peyton Badskey.
“We got some good through balls and some nice one-on-one with the keeper,” Raber said. “I wish we would’ve finished a little more early to make it easier, but our defense held together pretty well.”
Raber said he figured the Cougars would get some one-on-one chances because “we knew they were going to play a high back line. It’s the second time we’ve played them (LCA also won the first meeting, 2-0 four weeks ago). I would have liked to see some of those through balls go a bit wider so the keeper couldn’t come out to get ’em, but you can’t argue with 4-oh.”
The Cougars (10-4-1) earned their sixth shutout of the season.
“I challenged our center defensive mids to step up and take away any chances in the middle of the field,” Raber said of juniors Joy Hanes and Hannah Starrett. “I don’t think we gave up any prime scoring chances, and that was primarily those two. Avery (LCA’s junior sweeper) has been great all year and Finley (Hobbs, a freshman), has been solid as a goalie, but those center mids really showed up to play tonight and that was awesome.”
Next up for the defending champion Cougars in Saturday’s 7 p.m. sectional final will be 1A No. 16-rated Bethany Christian.
The Bruins (15-2) blanked Lakewood Park 3-0 in Thursday’s first semifinal. They also beat LCA 3-0 in an Aug. 20 regular-season meeting.
“We’re going to have to contain some good offensive players,” Raber said of the rematch, specifically citing Bethany senior Caroline Cartme. “She scored all three on us the first time, so we have to contain her. Then we have to make sure we’re crisp with our passes and take advantage of our chances. We can’t waste any in that game.”
The Cougars will enter the title contest with a 6-1-1 record over their last eight outings, the only loss a 2-0 decision against 1A No. 5-rated Argos. The Bruins, meanwhile, are 14-1 in their last 15, their only blemish also being 2-0 against Argos.
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