Lady Falcons Endure Two Savage Beat Downs

Last week wasn't kind to the Elmira Lady Falcons basketball team, outmanned at the outset by the absence of center Maranda Hanson.  Elmira found itself struggling mightily in its first road contest at Philomath where the Lady Warriors trounced Elmira 55-24 Tuesday December 11 at Philomath High School.  Cold shooting that plagued the Falcons in their opening night victory versus Sisters, reared its ugly head again against Philomath.  This was compounded by 20 turnovers and an anemic 3 for 18 shooting from the free throw line.

Elmira junior Megan Porter defends against Philomath's Emma Pankalla in the Lady Falcon's 55-24 loss on Tuesday December 11 at Philomath High School.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie

However, the biggest harbinger of doom for Elmira was Philomath big guard Sage Kramer who lit up the Falcon defense for 18 points most in the first half.

"For me the most disappointing part was the discipline of our defense," lamented Elmira head coach Ken Best in an email.

The lone bright spot was Carly Grossmiller who led Elmira, scoring 15 points often on aggressive drives to the Philomath basket.

Falcon's senior Carly Grossmiller attacks the rack for 2 of her 15 points in Elmira's loss to Philomath Tuesday December 11.
Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

"Carly is a constant burst of energy," said Best.  "She just wants to play and play hard and she doesn't let the swings of the game affect her emotionally.  The rest of our team needs to follow her example in that regard."

"Our mental preparation in the practices leading up to this game was not what it needed to be," explained Best.  "Our focus, effort, and attitude during the game was not what it needed to be.  I can tell you that our short practice on Wednesday and Thursday's practice after this game are two of the best we've had from a mental and physical standpoint."

Unfortunately, that didn't translate into a victory as the Lady Falcons traveled to Newport and were rudely hammered by the hosts by a cringe-worthy 69-18 count Friday December 14 at Newport High School.  The 51 point loss left Elmira with a 1-2 count on the young season with Sweet Home coming in next Tuesday for the opener of a double header.  The girls play at 5:45 and the boys take the floor at 7:15.

 

Lady Falcons Find True Grit; Come from Behind to Dump Sisters

Except for a sublime, impromptu moment, Elmira's girls basketball victory over Sisters was anything but a work of art.

"We have a long way to go in our execution, conditioning, and in a lot of our skill work," noted Falcon's head coach Ken Best in an email.  "But I was proud of how level-headed and focused we were."

Junior Maranda Hanson towers over three Sisters' defenders as well as Elmira's Megan Porter and Sydney Green to snatch a rebound in the Lady Falcons' 34-29 victory over the Lady Outlaws.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie

In a sluggish game where both teams shot horrendously, especially in the first half, Elmira's backcourt accounted for 61% of the Falcon's scoring, overcoming a first half deficit and pulling out a 34-29 victory in their season opener in the nightcap game, December 4 at Elmira High School.  Senior Sydney Green scored 11 points and Carly Grossmiller added 10 for the winners.

Second team 4A-Sky Em, all conference player Sydney Green goes up for an uncontested lay up in Elmira's 34-29 win over Sisters, Tuesday December 4.  Green led all Falcon scorers with 11 points.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie

Defense was the order of the day, especially in the second half where the Lady Outlaws were reduced to a meager 10 points in 16 minutes of play.  Led by defensive specialist Megan Porter, the Falcons regained the lead on the first possession of the second half and began to wear down the Sisters offense.

Elmira forward Megan Porter defends against Sisters' shooter Sydney Head in the Lady Falcons' opening night victory against the Lady Outlaws, Tuesday December 4.  Photo by Kimberly Lilly.

"Megan is the type of defender I can put on their point guard, their best shooter, or their best post," Best added.  "I trust her in every defensive situation."

The punctuation mark on the victory belonged to Cheyanne White, who provided the most scintillating, albeit inadvertent,  highlight of the night.  Breaking the Sisters press, White drove into the right side of the paint with the intention of scoring.  According to White, she realized that a defender was going to be in the way and chose to pass.  As the defender lunged, the pass bounced on a dime through the defender's legs and into the hands of the Falcons' Alexis White, who scored in one fluid motion.  It was one of three pivotal plays that sealed the victory for Elmira.

White got another assist to Porter who hit a transition lay-up.  With three minutes to play, White had a shot blocked but was able to tip it to Porter who found Green for an open baseline jumper.

"I liked our tenacity and effort," Best said.  "They kept their heads in the game and never panicked, and they seemed to having fun.  The part about having fun is important to me."

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.

Laing, Monagan Lead Lady Falcons over South Umpqua

Kennady Laing set the tone with two early goals and Kaycee Monagan finished job with two second half goals as the Lady Falcons soccer team routed over matched 3A South Umpqua 4- nil Thursday September 13 at Swartz Field.

Kennady Laing races downfield with the ball against a South Umpqua defender during the Falcons' 4-0 win over the Lady Lancers.  Laing scored twice in the contest.  Photo: Kimberly Lillie

With Megan Porter patrolling the center of the field, the Lady Lancers were unable to muster any semblance of an offensive attack.  Meanwhile, Lancers' goal keeper Haley McAvoy was assailed with shots all game as Elmira out shot South Umpqua 21-0.

Elmira's Maddie Wisner fires one of the Falcons' 21 shots on goal during the Elmira's 4-0 win over South Umpqua Thursday September 13 at Swartz Field.  Photo: Kimberly Lillie 

Lainge scored early as the Falcons frequently crowded McAvoy to get off point blank shots on goal.
Monagan scored on a rebound from a Laing shot in the second half and off a corner kick that McAvoy lost control of, bounding into the net for the fourth Falcons' score.

"Kaycee Monagon is starting to get back in to her 2nd-Team All-League form," head coach Rob Lee commented in an email.  "She is making some really great passes, setting up our wings for great opportunities down the sideline, and her free kicks are getting locked in as witnessed by her scoring directly from the corner kick for her second goal of the night.  Having her back up to speed will really help our offense moving forward in to league play."
  

Elmira's Kaycee Monagan moves downfield during the Falcons' 4-0 win over South Umpqua September 13 at Swartz Field. Photo: Kimberly Lillie

The victory left the Lady Falcons 2-2 on the season with one game left in the non-conference schedule.  After a neutral site contest with Astoria next Tuesday in Wilsonville, they will open conference play on the road at Cottage Grove on September 25.

"Marist will be a formidable opponent once league play starts," noted Lee, "and Cottage Grove, although they are only 1-2-1, they will also be very tough in league. I think realistically we are looking to fight for 2nd in league with Grove and Junction City.  The good news about whatever happens this season is that we get another shot at a league title with all my players returning for next year."

Lady Falcons Soccer Rebound; Blank Sweet Home

When Head Coach Rob Lee’s Lady Falcons soccer team stumbled out of the gate with a forgettable 7-0 loss, he was optimistic that the growing process for the team was still assured, despite no senior leadership

“This is my 10th season as head coach and this is definitely the most inexperienced team,” Lee responded in an email. “However, “inexperienced” doesn’t mean “untalented”... we definitely have some great talent and there are multiple diamonds in the rough that I look forward to developing into future shining stars.”

Lee was proven right.

Kennady Laing scored twice and Megan Porter scored late to provide the frosting on the cake as Elmira blanked the Sweet Home 3-0 Thursday, August 31 at Elmira High School. The victory evened the Lady Falcons record to 1-1.

Shaking off a sluggish, scoreless first half, where goalkeeper Andrah Cobb fended off numerous first half shots on goal, the Lady Falcons wound up spending the bulk of the second half on the Lady Huskies’ end of the field as Porter led strong mid-field play that diffused the Sweet Home offense. It contributed to all three goals including Lainge’s two breakaway goals.

“Kennady Laing is a returning first-team all-league player, who is arguably the fastest girl in the league, let alone our team. Finding her with a ball in open space is deadly for any opponent,” Lee noted.
 
Elmira got their final score when, Porter, who dominated mid-field play in the second half, lobbed a 30 yard goal over the outstretched reach of Lady Husky goalkeeper Moira Curtis. It was Porter’s first goal as a varsity player. Lee was quick to praise his junior team co-captain.

Megan Porter battles a Sweet Home midfielder in the Lady Falcons' 3-0 victory

“Megan Porter has been a solid rock player the past two seasons as well. This is definitely her breakout year as all the other senior defenders graduated last season. She is fully capable of playing any position on the field and can strike from distance if given an opportunity.”

When asked about the 10 goal swing from the North Bend game to yesterday’s victory, Coach Lee was frank.

“North Bend was just a much better team and they overwhelmed us. I think the biggest progress from Tuesday to Thursday was just getting the first game under our belt. The girls finally saw and felt what it was like to play full field 11v11 on Tuesday and so by Thursday they were more prepared for it.”