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Steamboat girls soccer beats Moffat County, 3-0

John F. Russell
Steamboat Springs' Joanie Bier drives toward the Moffat County goal in the first half of Monday afternoon’s soccer game at Gardner Field. The Bulldogs only gave up one goal in a hard fought first half, but Steamboat added two more in the second en route to a 3-0 victory.
John F. Russell





Steamboat Springs’ Joanie Bier drives toward the Moffat County goal in the first half of Monday afternoon’s soccer game at Gardner Field. The Bulldogs only gave up one goal in a hard fought first half, but Steamboat added two more in the second en route to a 3-0 victory.
John F. Russell

— It wasn’t always pretty, but the Steamboat Springs High School soccer team did what it needed to do Monday evening and picked up a 3-0 win over Western Slope rival Moffat County.

“We couldn’t get our rhythm in the beginning, and I think scoring quick helped,” Steamboat Springs senior Joanie Bier said “I don’t think we were connected mentally in the first half and that was tough. But we were able to come back and pick it up in the second half. I think we did the best that we could and we got it done.”

Bier scored the opening goal of the game after controlling a pass from teammate Sarah White and driving it past Moffat County goalkeeper Imelda Hernandez just minutes into Monday’s contest at Gardner Field.



Moffat County’s scrappy defense then clamped down and limited the Sailors’ scoring opportunities. Hernandez did her part, coming up with a couple of big saves, including stopping a penalty kick, to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance in the first half.

“It was one of those scary games,” Sailors coach Rob Bohlmann said. “At any point a game like that can change quickly.”



But in the opening minutes of the second half, Steamboat got a boost from Sydney Bauknecht, who put the ball in the back of the net on an assist from Bier to extend the home team’s lead to 2-0. White put the game out of reach with 15 minutes left in the contest with Steamboat’s third goal of the game. Bier assisted on that goal, as well.

“In the second half, we wanted to focus on possession more and making sure that we had more of a presence,” Bier said. “We were able to do that.”

Moffat County coach Harry Tripp said he was happy with the way his team played despite the loss.

“We had a full week off and this was our first game back from spring break,” Tripp said. “I felt like our defense was right there. … We played really well as a team.”

But the Bulldogs, 1-5 in league play, couldn’t create the scoring opportunities they needed to get back in the game.

“I wish we would have won the middle just a little more,” Tripp said. “If we would have won the middle I think we could have created more offensive opportunities. The bounces just were not there. The past couple of weeks we’ve been working on through balls and it seemed like we would try the through ball and Steamboat would have a leg right on it.”

Moffat County next travels to play second-place Palisade. Palisade, which has a half-game lead on Steamboat in the standings, comes to Gardner Field on Friday for a showdown with the Sailors that could have playoff implications. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

To reach John F. Russell, call 970-871-4209 or email jrussell@SteamboatToday.com


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