Prairie girls soccer coach Michael Thyron was familiar with Evergreen’s strength in the defense, so he had a message for the team before they stepped onto the field Thursday: attack early.
“Wanted to have high intensity in the start,” junior midfielder Malaika Quigley said. “That’s what he talked about in the locker room, to come out strong, try to get a goal early to keep them on their toes.”
And the Falcons listened.
Prairie pushed the ball in the opening minutes, and Kaylin Sperley scored in the fifth minute. But it was Thyron’s halftime speech that the girls say helped fuel early second half goals and a 3-2 win over Evergreen on Thursday at McKenzie Stadium.
Evergreen took back possession, and Dolly Suarez equalized in the 11th minute on a penalty kick. Prairie slipped from its game plan and faced Evergreen’s quick counter. The two teams fell back into defensive mode and the attack-happy pace faded.
“We wanted to get out and prove that if we give a goal up, it’s just not over,” Evergreen coach Keenan Burris said.
So at halftime, the message to Prairie was more animated.
“Got a little ripped into for our effort after they scored that goal,” Quigley said.
“I kind of got after them a little bit and said,’ you know, that’s below par,’ ” Thyron said. “Then they came out on fire.”
Prairie opened the half in similar fashion to how they opened the game. They scored two goals in the first 10 minutes to gain a comfortable two-goal lead.
First, Quigley flicked in a header off a Savannah Harshbarger free kick. Four minutes later, senior Makenna Alfson scored on a shot from the top of the box.
The Falcons were rolling.
With just over 10 minutes left, Suarez breathed some life into the Plainsmen.
She got the ball from about 25 yards out, noticed the keeper was off her line, and sent a volley high into the air — and Prairie goalkeeper Jennah Farrell quickly looking to readjust — before the ball dropped into the back of the net to bring Evergreen within a goal.
“I thought I’m just going to hit it, it’s either going to go out, go in, or the keeper is going to bobble it and someone is going to get on the end of it,” Suarez, who has scored seven goals in the last seven days, said. “I always catch the keeper off guard. They don’t always expect it.”
The Falcons (4-4-1, 3-0 3A Greater St Helens League) remain undefeated in league play. They have won at least a share of the league title each of the past two seasons.
“It was kind of one of those seesaw battles, and you’ve got to win some of those, too,” Thyron said.
Thursday’s result was just the momentum they needed.
“It’s huge,” Thyron said. “Down the stretch you’ve got so many games, then injuries creep up, then the weather changes, then it’s just going to be the little things that make the difference. If you can have that little bit of an edge in the beginning of the season, I think it gives you momentum going into the back of the season.”
As for Evergreen (3-3-2, 1-2), it has plenty to take away and build from.
Burris posed: “What don’t you build from? Last year the coach (Matt Houghton) did a great job trying to prepare them, now you’re seeing younger kids getting more experience. Last year they got beat 5-0 in the first match against Prairie. … We fought back.”
