The Mount Vernon girls’ soccer team has a rough road in the postseason, but they proved in the final week of the regular season they certainly have learned how to score.
The Mustangs beat Anamosa 9-0 on Tuesday, May 19, at Downing Field, then beat the Comets, 8-0, on Thursday, May 21, in West Liberty.
“We’re late into the season, so I think we’ve figured out what our strengths are as players and as a team,” Mount Vernon coach Angie Knies said.
The Mustangs (11-5-1) scored about every way possible against the Blue Raiders.
Junior Miranda Sellner opened the scoring about seven minutes into the game, when she shot the ball, it was deflected and Courtney Franck collected the rebound and passed it back to Sellner for an easy goal.
“It is good to see things falling,” Franck said, using a basketball term. “Us passing the ball and getting it to the other side. And people getting on the end of crosses.”
“We did a good job of playing team ball, and it showed.”
Two minutes later, freshman Alaiana Sellner scored on a breakaway off a crossing pass from junior Rose Pisarik.
Two minutes later, Miranda Sellner lofted a corner kick that Franck headed into the goal. And it was 3-0 just that quick.
“I usually aim for one person, but since they all run into the goal, they are all there,” Miranda Sellner said.
Mount Vernon added one more goal before half when Franck took a shot from about 20 yards out that sailed over the goalie and under the crossbar.
“I like how we communicate with each other and how we connect off the field, too,” Franck said.
It was 4-0 at half. And Coach Knies got a cheer from the team when she told them sophomore defender Avery Miller would get a chance to score.
“She’s normally a defender, so it was neat to put her up there (at forward),” Miranda Sellner said. “We wanted her to get a goal and she got one.”
And it didn’t take too long, either. Midway through the second half, Alaina Sellner was pushed to the turf inside the box, and Miller converted the penalty kick, her first goal of the season, to make it 5-0.
Franck picked up her third goal about four minutes later off a crossing pass from Pisarik.
Miranda Sellner found a loose ball in front of the goal and popped it in to make it 7-0. Freshman Carly Weaver added a goal after a pass by Miranda Sellner.
Franck tallied her fourth goal redirecting a bouncing ball mid-air with her foot right in front of the goalie.
“The girls are showing what I’ve been preaching,” Knies said. “It is later in the season, and they are learning from their mistakes.”
Against the Comets, senior Emma Hoffman had three goals. Franck added two, and Miranda and Alaiana Sellner each had one. Franck had two assists, Hoffman, Emara Perreault and each Sellner had one.
Of course Anamosa (3-9-1) and West Liberty (4-11-1) are not big challenges like the ones coming up in 2A regional play.
The Mustangs open the postseason Thursday, May 28, at Marion (8-4-2). Win that, and they travel to No. 10 Cedar Rapids Xavier (6-2-4) on June 2. The other side of the regional bracket includes No. 7 North Polk (11-3-1).
“We are good enough to keep playing,” Knies said.
“We just need to keep connecting on our passes,” Sellner said. “Hopefully we can bring that into the harder games.”