Boys fall in home opener, girls take down Chariton

With the full roster on the field, the Creston/Nodaway Valley girls soccer team was able to put together their first win of the season Tuesday against Chariton (1-1-1).

It was a defensive 1-0 win, Nodaway Valley senior Lillie Strode scoring the only goal of the game with five minutes left in the first half. She was assisted by Creston senior Alyssa Gerdes.

Though the Panthers (1-3-1) goal came in the first half, co-head coach Bill Ralston said they came out a little flat before halftime.

“We saw that turn around really well after the half. They came out a lot more aggressive. I was really happy about that,” he said. “We asked a little more of some of the girls and they really stepped up and responded. We saw much better passing the second half.”

Gerdes took several shots on the goal throughout the game but was unable to seal the deal.

A shot by freshman Karissa Groves in the first half went just wide.

In the second half, the shots came more frequently.

“We talked about getting wide so they could be options for passing rather than individual play,” Ralston said. “That helped a lot too.”

The Panthers spent the majority of the game in Chargers’ territory, keeping up the offensive pressure.

“One thing we can’t say enough – our defense is rock solid. There were not very many times when we were really threatened,” Ralston said. “Our defense was really playing tough, really dialed in.”

In the last five minutes, there were an influx of quality shots by the Panthers, but the Chargers goaltender was able to keep them at bay.

“I thought it was a pretty intense last five minutes,” Ralston said. “Our girls were pushing pretty hard to get another goal. They were really working it hard as far as getting passes wide and then working it back in the middle to try to get good options for shooting.”

The Panthers return to action tonight at home as they host Hawkeye 10 opponent, Denison-Schleswig. Monday they play at Winterset.

Boys

The Panther boys (0-2) opened at home against a tough Chariton (2-0) team, falling 4-0.

Junior Cristofer Enamorado led the Chargers with two goals on six shots and an assist.

Chariton scored quick, Enamorado getting past Creston goalkeeper CT Stalker five minutes into the bout.

The Panthers were able to get the ball in Chargers territory, freshman Josh Anderson taking a shot 18 minutes in that Chariton goalie Brody Krutsinger caught for a save.

The Panthers had five total shots on goal, but Krutsinger was perfect on the night, not allowing a ball through.

Anderson made three of the five shots while sophomores Joaquin Flores and Carlos Page had the other two.

Stalker fended off 11 shots on goal, allowing four.

Just after Anderson’s shot, the Chargers took the ball into Panthers’ territory, taking a shot at the low right side of the goal. Stalker dove and extended, getting a hand on the ball to deflect it out of the area. While he was getting back to his feet, Chargers sophomore Elijah Wagner was able to put the ball in the top left of the net to score.

The Panthers gave up three goals in the first half but held the Chargers to one in the second half -— a shot made by Callahn Querrey.

The Panthers return to action tonight at home against H10 opponent Denison-Schleswig. Monday they play at Winterset.