The West Plains Lady Zizzer Varsity soccer team picked up their first win of the season in an Ozark Conference match against the Parkview Lady Vikings on Tuesday evening.
In a game that was moved to the turf at JFK Stadium due to the rain, Parkview got on the board first. In the 11th minute of the first half, Freshman Jessica Maerz fired a shot from 10 yards out after beating the Left Side of the Lady Zizzer defense. The shot went off the hands of Keeper Jamie Brassfield and into the net for a 1-0 Lady Vikings lead. Brassfield would make one great save and would come out to smother a few more chances as the Lady Zizzers stayed close.
In the 33rd minute, Junior Michelle Esterle took the ball in a shot from 8 yards out to tie the game at 1-1. The second half saw both teams create opportunities that they couldn’t finish off. Finally in the 29th minute of the second half, Sophomore Mollie Plocher played a long ball that rolled past the Parkview defense. Freshman Rachel Skelly ran it down, took a touch around the onrushing Parkview Keeper, and touched the ball into the net for what would be the Game Winner. Parkview put some more pressure on in the final minutes, but were unable to tie game. The Win evens the Lady Zizzer record at 1-1. They are now 1-0-0 in Ozark Conference play. Parkview drops to 0-1 and 0-1 in OC play. Both teams were missing a couple of players and will face each other again on Friday, March 30 at the Neosho Tournament at 6:30pm.
In JV action, West Plains won 2-0 making their record 1-0 on the season. The first Lady Zizzer goal came at the 15 minute mark of the first half as Freshman Megan Lowe dribbled into the box and pushed a ball past the Parkview Keeper for a 1-0 lead. In the second half, Freshman Courtney Weaver scored in the 17th minute to make the score 2-0.
Both teams did a good job. A good first game for the JV and some definite improvement for the Varsity. Next up, Nixa at home Thursday, JV starts at 5:00pm.
