Tornadoes Battle Hard, But Fall Short in the End
By Melissa Jensen
It was a brisk night with a bit of chill in the air on Tuesday, September 21; a perfect night for a soccer game under the lights on Goodrich Field.
The Anoka Tornadoes girl’s soccer team took on the Centennial Cougars ranked third in state; a tough competitor by anyone’s standards.
The game started off with a bang with equal possession on both ends of the field. It was obvious this was going to be a close game as both teams were giving it their all. The Tornadoes had multiple close shots on the Cougar’s goalie in the first half, yet were unable to slide the ball in the back of the net. The Tornadoes defense remained strong holding back the Cougars for the majority of the first half.
The game took a turn with only 1:35 left in the first half when the Cougar offense managed to slip the ball past Senior goalie Sonya Smith. After the adrenaline rush of their first goal, the Cougars were able to score just thirty seconds before the first half whistle leaving the first half score at 2-0.
At the beginning of the second half, the Tornadoes came back with vengance battling hard to win back those two goals. The Tornado defense remained strong with a spectacular save by junior Katie Jones after Sonya Smith attempted to dive and capture the ball from the Cougar offense. Smith also had numerous exciting saves throughout the second half.
As the Toranado offense began to gain momentum at the middle of the second half, the Cougars picked their game up a notch and slid their third goal in the net with 24:37 remaining in the game.
In the end, the Tornadoes fought hard, but were unable to come back and clinch the victory leaving the final score at 3-0 in the Cougar’s favor.
Senior capatin Shauna Rodman says, “This game showed us we need to play our game for the entire 90 minutes.” Although it was a tough loss, Rodman looks forward to the Tonado’s upcoming game on September 28th against the Maple Grove Crimson.
