DENISON — Both teams were seeking their first win of the season, and a first-half goal held up for a Denison-Schleswig 1-0 victory over visiting Creston girls Thursday night.
An unassisted goal by Kelby Brungardt at the 23:00 mark of the first half for Denison-Schleswig was the only score in this defensive battle.
D-S improved to 1-3, all in Hawkeye 10 play, while Creston fell to 0-5 overall and 0-4 in the league.
“We improved, but it was too little, too late for us,” said Creston coach Kim Lauffer. “We started to do some good things with the ball. When we’re winning the ball, we do some good things. We had a lot of shots on goal. We have to work on playing well in the first half, for the entire game, not just after they already have one in.”
With goalkeeper Taquana Williams out of action with a root canal procedure done Thursday, Becca Ross and Shelby Palser shared duties in the net on a night when three key defenders were also out of action.
Logan Pettit had to sit out with a concussion, and Maddie Travis and Katie Powers are away this week on a mission trip to Guatemala.
“We had some kids come up from JV and help us in a positive way,” Lauffer said. “We got by. We were winning the 50-50 balls much better than Tuesday.”
The teams were nearly even on shots (18-17 D-S’s favor) and both hit 12 on goal.
“It was a great win for our kids,” said D-S coach Nick Bradley. “Our defense tonight was outstanding and allowed us to play on Creston’s half of the field for a majority of the night.”
The Panthers play at Chariton on Tuesday.
Denison-Schleswig 1, Creston 0
Creston (0) — Shots (on goal) — 17 (12 on goal). Individual shots (on goal)— Savannah Hartman 5 (3 on goal), Hanna Luther 3 (2 on goal), Becca Ross 2 (2 on goal), Kalan Bloodgood 3 (1 on goal), Abbie Cook 1 (1 on goal), Jaiden Stephens 1 (1 on goal), Shelby Palser 1 (1 on goal), Taylor Sorrells 1. Keeper saves — Shelby Palser 7, Becca Ross 2. Cards — Bloodgood (Y).
Denison-Schleswig (1) — Kelby Brungardt 23:00 first half. Shots (on goal) — 18 (12 on goal). Saves — Yulianna Carrazco 6.