Lady Falcons Struggle to Get 2nd Win in 10 Years over JC

Coming off a tough loss, Elmira's girls' soccer team brokered an early lead and then survived a furious rally by Junction City to take a 2-1 decision over the Lady Tigers, Thursday September 27 at Swartz Field.  Paige Reichenberger got the Lady Falcons started with a goal inside just outside of 5 minutes into the game.  Elmira kept pressure on in the first half and Lexie Gieger got a breakaway and scored her second goal of the season to put up the Falcons up two and seemingly in control.

"She (Gieger) has really improved on dribbling with a soft touch and keeping the ball in striking distance while sprinting toward the goal," Elmira head coach Rob Lee commented in an email.  "This helps freeze the keeper in her spot, allowing Lexie to place the ball right around her." 

Elmira junior Lexi Geiger rushes into the Junction City zone on her way to scoring her second goal of the season in the Lady Falcons'  2-1 victory over Junction City, Thursday September 27 at Swartz Field. Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

However, a defensive lapse in the last 30 seconds of the first half allowed Junction City's Maya Miller to score and close the gap to 2-1 at half.

The score by the Tigers sparked a furious second half rally by Junction City, where many times the Falcons seemed out of sync and frustrated, unable to manufacture any offense to counter the Lady Tigers' frequent excursions into the Elmira zone.

"(The) girls were a bit worn down," Lee noted   "You could see it in their lackluster efforts to chase down loose balls. Junction city made some adjustments and really put some extra pressure on our defense."  Lee mentioned that Megan Porter and Kati Kennedy did stand out.  Andrah Cobb once again had a sterling performance as the Falcons rode her 9 saves enroute to only the Lady Falcons second victory in 10 years over Junction City.