Second Half Goals Give Howell North A Win Against Howell Central

The Francis Howell North Knights soccer team’s offensive pressure produced two goals and a GAC South Conference victory on Tuesday night against the Francis Howell Central Spartans.

On the field at  Francis Howell Central High School, Howell North improved to 7-2 overall and 1-0 in the GAC South with the 2-0 win. Howell Central drops to 6-6 overall and 0-2 in the league. 

The contest was played on both sides of the field throughout the first 20 minutes of the first half, but the Spartans were able to muster two shots on goal in the first 20 minutes.

“I think we started off the game with some quality scoring opportunities,” Spartans coach Derek Phillips said. “We had some good chances with some long balls. I thought the game was pretty even throughout the night, at least for 65 or 70 minutes.”

But the Knights started to challenge Howell Central in the last 20 minutes of the half. Howell North had three shots on goal in the last 20 minutes.      

Howell North’s offense had little trouble producing opportunities in the later part of the second half. Kelsey Fouch’s shot with 24:02 left to play in the second half bounced off the side of the goal. Fouch had another shot on goal with 18:28 left to play in the contest. The Knights had four shots on goal in the last 20 minutes of the second half.

Sarah Peth’s goal with 10:28 left to play in the contest gave Howell North a 1-0 advantage. Fouch added a little insurance with another goal with 7:28 left to play.

“We really put things together in the last 10 to 15 minutes of the game,” Howell North coach Mark Olwig said. “We had a quality sequence of passes. I think overall our intensity picked up in the second half.”

Olwig called the second goal “a big goal” that provided his team some breathing room. Phillips said the second goal put the contest out of reach for his team.