On May 11th, the Festus Tigers Girls Varsity Soccer team challenged Windsor High School, but fell 3-0. The Windsor offense took over in the first half, putting up two goals, and adding another in the second half, all the while keeping the Tigers offense from getting started.
Windsor scored at the 25 minute mark to get on the board, and added another goal 11 minutes later at minute 36. The score was 2-0 at halftime.
In the second half, Windsor added to their lead with another goal, at the same time blanking the Tigers. The final score was 3-0.
Mady Geiler played the first 40 minutes in the net and gave up two goals on 13 shots. Zoe Erxleben played the final 40 minutes and gave up a goal as well on seven shots. Festus only managed five shots on goal in total.
Head Coach Caleb Zustiak noted, “This was a much improved contest compared to the previous meeting at the Windsor Tournament in April. At that match, we lost 8-0 and didn’t finish the full game. The Tigers were in contention the entire game this time, scrambling for second balls and hustling on defense. This was a loss but a victory in that it shows the improvement we have made throughout the season.”
Alayna Erxleben was a standout on defense, captaining her players to shut down the Windsor offense as best as possible.
Emily Holt had a strong game as well, creating offense with runs and fighting the Windsor defense the entire game. Zustiak commented, “Caitlynn Johnson, a Freshman, is also showing great defensive hustle and offensive connection with her forwards, helping move the ball intelligently from the back, middle, and top of the field.”
While the Tigers did not get the win, this was a marked improvement from the first meeting between the two teams. The Tigers will look to improve heading into the home stretch of the season.
