MOLALLA – It was a classic tale of two halves here Tuesday night as La Salle Prep’s girls’ varsity soccer team played Molalla High to a 3-3 standoff in a Capital Conference game.
The first half was owned by the Falcons, who struck for two goals within a minute and added a third score just six minutes before intermission for a 3-0 advantage. But a heavy downpour at halftime seemed to wash away any thoughts that Molalla would go down quietly; the Indians got on the board 42 seconds into the second half, added another score 10 minutes later, and tallied the equalizer on a penalty kick with just 3:15 left.
It was the first non-win in four Capital Conference starts for La Salle, which is 3-0-1 in league play and 3-3-1 overall heading into Thursday afternoon’s 4:15 p.m. home game vs. Stayton.
“The girls played a great first half,” said La Salle head coach Ryan Cereghino. “Unfortunately, we did not come out strong in the second half and let Molalla back into the game with a quick goal. I give Molalla a lot of credit for not giving up and fighting for a draw. The players are going to learn from this experience and need to realize that a game is 80 minutes long, not 40.”
Freshman Jen McNasser was the offensive standout for the Falcons, striking for her first goals of the season in lightning-quick fashion midway through the first half. Her first came on a chip shot from 18 yards out after a series of caroms in the box following a Falcon corner kick, and her second was a one-touch liner 54 seconds later that came after a perfectly placed low cross from the right wing by Michelle Snader.
“Jen does a great job of listening at practice, reading the game, and putting herself in good positions on the field,” said Cereghino. “She hit the ball solid on frame and good things happened.”
Senior midfielder Stephanie Socotch, who scored a goal for the second consecutive game , gave La Salle a 3-0 advantage with 6:15 left in the opening half when she took a short feed from Elizabeth Danna and converted from 20 yards.
Falcon keeper Natalie Byrne turned in an outstanding defensive performance with a series of spectacular second-half saves against an onslaught of shots by Molalla, most of which came off the foot of the Indians’ Claire Thomas, who had two of her team’s three goals.
The speedy Thomas scored on a breakaway into the box at the 39:18 mark of the second half to give the Indians new life and cut the deficit to 3-1. After a couple of Thomas near-misses, including one shot that caromed off the right post and another from point-blank range that was saved by Byrne, the Molalla freshman struck again when she deposited a shot into the left corner of the net at the 13:39 mark.
Byrne came up with some more outstanding defensive plays in goal as La Salle tried to protect its lead, but when the Falcons were called for a foul in the box with 3:15 left, Molalla captain Anna Russell delivered a penalty kick into the left corner of the net to tie the score 3-3.
Dave Haglund
