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BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
ARGOS –- Sometimes the best time to score a goal in soccer is immediately after your opponent scores, according to Argos girls soccer coach Joe Stone.
Lady Dragon junior Lauren McGlothin’s timing seemingly had this axiom in mind. McGlothin scored on a direct kick just 39 seconds after Bremen’s Zeta Nunemaker, and it was the game-winning goal in Argos’ 3-1 win over the Lady Lions Saturday night.
Micah Heckaman and Aryanna Allen also scored for Class 1A, No. 5 Argos, who improved to 11-2-2. Argos was coming off a 2-2 tie with Westview on Friday.
Bremen fell to 6-6-1.
The timing of McGlothin’s goal was important both in the short term of winning the game but in the longer term as well. That’s because Argos drew Bremen in their Class 1A, Sectional 35 quarterfinal on Sunday, and the teams will meet again at 7 p.m. Oct. 5 at Argos.
Argos was leading 1-0 and had held Bremen without a shot on goal for the match until Nunemaker blistered a shot to the top right corner of the net with 20:46 left to tie the game.
McGlothin scored her game-winner just 39 seconds later.
“Back when I played, Tim VanDuyne was our head coach, and that was the first thing he said,” Stone said. “You usually give up a goal five minutes after somebody scores. Count on it. So you have to be focused after five minutes. That’s the worst time-slash-the best time to score a goal. We’ve been working with Lauren for awhile. She’s finally started getting in shape. She was a starter last year. Now she’s coming off the bench. She had surgery in the offseason. So we’re slowly working her back. Coach Ty (Adley) and I, we have faith in her to shoot the ball, and that’s exactly what she did. So it was a great shot.”
Allen’s left-footed finish from point blank range past Bremen goalkeeper Yajaira Jimenez made it 3-1 with 17:31 left.
Both the Bremen bench and Bremen player Jazmin Zayed were presented with yellow cards in the second half.
For the game, Bremen had as many yellow cards as shots on goal (two).
But they also kept Argos from scoring after Heckaman’s goal with 22:32 left in the first half.
Argos is the defending regional champion, and Stone acknowledged afterwards that “everybody wants a piece of us.” Stone also said the team is “struggling” with finishing at the net.
Argos scored 31 goals in their first six games but just 24 goals in their last nine games.
Stone’s message to the team was to simply play, have fun and pay little mind to their opponents’ tactics.
“I told them, ‘You girls are putting all the pressure on yourselves,’” Stone said. “‘You’re your own worst enemy right now.’ So it’s one of those things (where) they’ve just got to get it out of their heads and just play.”
Meanwhile, the structure of Argos’ defense proved difficult to break down. Heckaman, Kadyn Baughman, Samantha Redinger, Cailey Markley, Sophia Bollenbacher, Allison Zahm and Carleigh Miller all patrolled the back line for the Lady Dragons.
“Good teams, and Bremen’s not a bad team at all, capitalize off your mistake, and we had one mistake tonight,” Stone said. “A girl didn’t run up on the ball like she should’ve, and that girl (Nunemaker) finished with a beautiful shot. The defense is there. We gave up two shots on goal all night. … The defensive structure is wonderful. It works when everybody is on the same page. Maybe she got lulled to death because Bremen didn’t make it down there too much. I don’t know. But it happens. I just told her don’t worry about it, forget about it, and let’s move on.”
