First valley soccer clash in the books
All Wood River
By JODY ZARKOS
Express Staff Writer
If you need to gauge the score of a soccer match, all you have to do is look at the sidelines.
If it is a tight game most of the fans will be standing, craning to get a better look at the action.
On Tuesday?s non-conference soccer matchup between Wood River and The Community School most of the onlookers were seated: relaxed in the fact that Hailey was in control and the outcome was never in doubt.
?Go out there and take care of business,? coach Greg Gvozdas told his team before the game and the Wolverines did just that, cruising to a 4-0 victory.
?I felt pretty good about the game,? Gvozdas said. ?We set the tone early and our pressure kept the Community School on its heels.?
On a hot day in Hailey, Wolverine junior Margii Driscoll sent the fans to their seats early. Driscoll scored seven minutes into the game, drawing goalie Oey Parker and beating her with a low left-footed roller in the corner.
Two minutes later, Driscoll displayed her equally adept right foot, burying the ball in the right corner for a 2-0 advantage.
At the 27-minute mark, Driscoll subbed into the game and 20 seconds ticked off before she collected her third goal for an insurmountable 3-0 lead.
?We?re hurtin?,? said Cutthroat coach Kelly Feldman remarked and she wasn?t joking.
The ?Throats were as banged up as a punch-drunk boxer and had just one senior, Cassidy Doucette, and two juniors in for the entire game. The rest of the team was comprised of freshmen and sophomores.
?I looked over at my sidelines and all three captains were there and not on the field,? Feldman said.
?I hoped we could do better, but where we are health-wise it just wasn?t possible. My overall impression is the girls worked really hard and held it to-gether. We held them to one goal in the second half.?
The goal came three minutes into the second stanza. Calley Brown lofted a free kick to Ireland King on the far post. King collected the ball and converted for a 4-0 final.
Overall, the Wolverines put 31 shots on net to the Cutthroats one. Parker (18 saves), the ?Throats sophomore goalkeeper, had a tremendous game in the face of relentless pressure and made several point-blank saves on 50-50 balls in the box.
?Oey had an awesome game,? Feldman said. ?She owned it. She never gave up.?
Wolverine defenders Katie Jensen, Danielle Smith, Gina Thomas and Kacie Femling never let the Cutthroats establish an offensive rhythm and if Sun Valley made it over the 50-yard line, Hailey quickly cut off their lanes and options. Cutthroat strikers were getting a first touch on the ball, but beyond that connections were few and far between.
?For the most part I feel we played with a lot of intensity and had the run of play,? Gvozdas said.
Wood River now leads the valley series 11-3-5.
Wood River (2-0) coming off two shutouts faced its first conference opponent, Minico, yesterday. Hailey travels to Pocatello Tuesday, Sept. 7.
The Community School played defending 3A state champion American Falls Thursday and will host Declo in its first home game of the season on Sept. 10.
One bit of good news for the Cutthroats is senior captain Lexie Pragasstis is expected to be back on the pitch next week.
Pragasstis underwent surgery earlier this week and, according to Feldman, a screw, which was supposed to have dissolved after an earlier operation was found to have lodged in her knee.
?We expect her back on Monday and that will really help,? Feldman said.
