Zumwalt South Girls Advance in Districts With 2-0 Win

Underclassmen proved to be a valuable cog in the Lady Bulldogs soccer team’s offense in the first round of the Class 3, District 8 Tournament on Monday. 

Sophomores Taylor Wade and Molly White both netted goals in the Lady Bulldogs' 2-0 victory over the Timberland Lady Wolves at Troy Buchannan High School.

The Lady Bulldogs challenged the Lady Wolves from the beginning. Zumwalt South put five shots on goal in the first 30 minutes. Wade netted a goal with 3:40 left to play in the first half—and important goal in the eyes Zumwalt South head coach Vernon Gano.

“I think we were a little tense and tight with this being the first district game,” he said. “It takes one [goal] to get you loosened up and that’s what happened for us.”

Zumwalt South’s offense continued to control the game in the second half. Brooke Hendrix’s shot just two minutes into the second half flew just a few feet above the goal.

Approximately a minute later—with 37:40 left to play—a White shot flew just a few feet to the north side of the goal. White scored just 30 seconds later—with 37:10 left to play—to make the score 2-0. Bridget Stewart passed the ball to White who was right in front of the goal. As goalie Erica Boyd came out of the box White fired a shot into the back of the goal.

The goal marks White’s first of the season. Although she played forward against Timberland and Francis Howell North on May 12, the sophomore spent most of the season playing midfield.   

“It was kind of nice,” Gano said on the goal. “We played her up top against Francis Howell North and she had some success. I wanted to give her some more time up there and she did a great job for us.”  

Although the Lady Bulldogs’ offense controlled the flow of play throughout most of the game, its defense stepped up when the occasion arouse. Junior defender Lauren King continuously kicked the ball to the opposite side of the field when Timberland pushed into the backfield. 

“Lauren does a great job for us,” Gano said. “She’s fast and has very good ball skills. We have a lot of trust in her.”

Freshman goalie Lauren Breshears had one save and earned her sixth shutout of the season.

Timberland head coach Heidi Kleekamp felt her team lacked in aggressiveness.

“The biggest thing for us was no one was going to the ball,” she said. “If you don’t go to the ball, you can’t win the ball. If you can’t keep possession you can’t get on the board.”

Fort Zumwalt South improves to 13-12 with the win. Timberland finishes the season with a 3-18 mark. The Lady Bulldogs are scheduled to play Troy Buchannan tonight at 4 p.m.