The West Plains Lady Zizzers earned their first Ozark Conference Win of the 2008 Season, defeating Hillcrest 2-0 on Thursday. The girls played okay in the first half of the game and had several scoring chances, but couldn’t get on the scoreboard. In the second half, West Plains came out strong, playing more aggressively. Three minutes into the second half, West Plains earned a corner kick. Mollie Plocher sent a ball to the near post. Michelle Esterle got a foot to the ball about 8 yards from goal and giving West Plains a 1-0 lead. Another corner kick in the 26th minute of the half would provide the Lady Zizzers second goal. This time Plocher sent a ball near the center of the goal. A crowd of players went for the ball, but the ball bounced and Ashley Martin came crashing through at the back post and buried a shot in the back of the net.
The second half was a very good one for West Plains. Ball movement and communication, along with a more aggressiveness going to the ball were strong points for the team. Beth Kittle, Kelly Smith, Audi Morrison, Ashley Martin, Cara Trautman, and Laiken Tyler all played well in the back, limiting Hillcrest’s scoring chances. Emma Ray, Katie Shannon, Mollie Plocher, Ashley Harris, Amy Armstrong, Dani Valade, Megan Lowe, and Megan Walker were able to contribute both offensively and defensively in the midfield. Forwards Rachel Skelly and Michelle Esterle were able to put good pressure on the Hillcrest defense. Jamie Brassfield played well in goal getting the victory and the shutout. West Plains outshot Hillcrest 22-5. With the win West Plains improves to 5-10 overall and 1-5 in the Ozark Conference.
In JV action, West Plains picked up it’s first win of the season, defeating Hillcrest 1-0. The Lady Zizzers got on the scoreboard early. In the 5th minute of play, Rebecca Wooldridge and Lauren Matlock combined to produce the Lady Zizzers second goal of the seson. Coming down the left side, Wooldridge passed outwide to Matlock. After taking a couple of touches, Matlock found Wooldridge running toward the goal. Wooldridge’s shot from ten yards out beat the Hillcrest Keeper to the far side giving West Plains a 1-0 lead.
West Plains continued to play well and created several other good scoring chances, but couldn’t add to their lead. A couple of strong defensive plays on near breakaways for Hillcrest, helped the Lady Zizzers keep the shutout. Laiken Tyler picked up the win and combined with Amber Snyder for the shutout. With the win, West Plains improves to 1-6 on the season. Up next for JV and Varsity are games at Home Friday against Rolla. Varsity will play first at 5:00pm. The last Home games of the season will be Monday against Parkview. JV will start at 5:00pm.
