Knightettes control field against Hillsboro

By MATT KING\Daily Journal Sports Writer

FARMINGTON - The Farmington girls soccer team earned its second win of the young season and first by shutout on Monday night with a dominant 4-0 triumph over visiting Hillsboro.

Farmington (2-3) carried nearly all of the action in the offensive end, sending 22 shots at Lady Hawks goalkeeper Kelsey Ortmann. The Knightettes rang six shots off of either the crossbar or goal posts, keeping the margin from being more one-sided.

Despite playing three grueling matches in Cape Girardeau over the weekend, Farmington brought plenty of energy from the start. Good work from the midfielders and defenders held Hillsboro without a single scoring chance.

Farmington struggled to connect on its early passes, but had two golden opportunities to score on corner kicks. A header in the 17th minute glanced off the post, while another attempt from close range was blocked away.

Senior Kristen Hayes finally helped the Knightettes break through in the 33rd minute with her first of two tallies on the night. A long free kick by Marissa Hoehn handcuffed Ortmann, and Hayes followed up on the play to slide the rebound into the net.

Hillsboro managed to penetrate the Farmington defense late in the first half, but Briley Milfeld won the ball in the corner and deflected it off of the Hillsboro attacker for a Farmington throw-in.

Heather Lewis continued a nice start to her season, and gave Farmington more breathing room 14 minutes into the second half. Lewis settled a pass from Galena Ring near the 18-yard stripe, and tucked a low strike inside the far post to make it 2-0.

Two minutes later, Ring was stopped from close range, but picked up her second assist when Hayes directed the rebound off the pipe and in for a 3-0 lead. Hayes appeared to have completed a hat-trick late in the contest, but the referee ruled that her long shot passed through the side of the net.

Hoehn atoned for a missed penalty kick by making a strong one-on-one move past a Hillsboro defender, and sending an excellent cross for her second assist to Katie Mell, who neatly redirected the ball to cap the scoring.

“In the first half, we were caught out of position on our attacks,” said Farmington coach Rusty Sancegraw, “but the girls stayed spaced out much better in the second half, and were able to make some good things happen.”

One last close call by the Knightettes not only saw a sinking shot from Becky Weaver hit the crossbar, but the rebound header by Danielle West as as well.

Farmington finished the match with eight corner kicks.

The Knightettes will attempt to reach the .500 mark when they host St. Vincent on Wednesday.

Hillsboro 0 0 - 0

Farmington 1 3 - 4

SCORING:

FHS - Hayes (Hoehn), 33:00

FHS - Lewis (Ring), 54:00

FHS - Hayes (Ring), 58:00

FHS - Mell (Hoehn), 68:00

Shots: FHS 22, HHS 0