Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH MANCHESTER - On a dreary, drizzling afternoon that eventually turned into a cold, clear evening, the Manchester Squires left Huntington North with a cold feeling after a 2-0 soccer triumph at Good Fields Tuesday.
The pitch was anything but good as the rain left standing water in spots that would alter the play.
"We knew that the weather would be a factor," said Manchester head coach Jennifer Vincent. "It was going to cause the ball to skip a lot on passes and we didn't handle that well in the first half."
The Squires and Vikings battled to a 0-0 tie in the first half. Manchester controlled the tempo and kept the pressure on Huntington North's kepper, Miranda Louthan.
Louthan was kept busy all night by an attacking Manchester offense. Louthan had 12 saves on the evening while her counterpart, Manchester's Amanda Penrod, was forced to make just three saves.
Despite outshooting the Vikings in the first half, Manchester was unable to break into the scoring column.
That would quickly change in the second half when Amy Vogel crossed a beautiful pass to Cami Naragon. Naragon sailed a shot past Louthan to finally give the Squires a lead at 1-0.
In the 54th minute of play, Louthan was forced to save a flurry of shots by Manchester to keep the Viking deficit at 1-0.
Though Manchester was unable to add a second goal until late, the Squires midfield kept Huntington North out of the attacking third and gave the Vikings little chance to tie the game.
With the ball on the feet of Manchester's attackers, the Squires' looked to add an insurance goal.
In the 68th minute, Sarah Purdy fired a shot that hit off the left crossbar and failed to go in.
Manchester's Caroline Anderson had two free kicks, at the 74th and 75th minutes, that couldn't get past Louthan.
The Squires finally sealed the contest in the 77th minute on an unassisted goal by Kessie Karg. Karg deaked past two Huntington North defenders to put the match out of reach. It was Karg's first goal of the season.
Karg, one of five seniors, was honored before Tuesday's match along with goalkeeper Amanda Penrod, Amy Vogel, Megan Hoch and Sarah Grant.
For Vincent, serving her first year as head coach at Manchester, having this particular group of seniors has been invaluable.
"I think we have a great group of seniors. They set a great example for the underclassmen. They have a great sense of humor and bring a great work ethic along with that. It shows the other girls we can still work hard and have fun at the same time. They're going to be missed," said Vincent of her senior leadership.
The win pushes the Squires' overall record to 7-3-3 on the season.
"As a whole the girls have improved from day one. I would consider it successful. With the seniors, we had this year, we've built a solid foundation for the future and I look forward to being around for it," said Vincent of her team's performance this year.
The Squires' final regular season game of the year is at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Peru.
MANCHESTER 2, H. NORTH 0
Scoring
M - Cami Naragon (Amy Vogel assist), 47th minute
M - Kessie Karg (unassisted), 77th minute
Saves - Miranda Louthan (Huntington North) 12, Amanda Penrod (Manchester) 3
