Your future, our focus
Playing her first game in goal since high school, the Lady Trappers’ Mia Smith played a perfect first half before the Golden Eagles got to her for two goals in the final 45 minutes to hand NWC a defeat in its first regular season match of 2014.
Early on, USUE put a healthy amount of pressure on Smith, who volunteered to fill the goalkeeper position after Trappers head coach Hill lost two keeper recruits just weeks before the season began.
Despite the early stresses, Smith stood strong, even making a brilliant save off of a header from USUE’s Jocelyn Morris.
“It was definitely weird being back out there in goal,” said Smith, who was an all-state high school keeper in Montana. “I’m happy to fill the role for coach Hill, but I know it’s going to take me a while to get back into the swing of things.”
That showed somewhat in the second half when what Hill called a ‘drop-off in pressure and intensity’ from his players, resulted in the Golden Eagles getting to Smith for two goals in the first nine minutes after the break.
After fielding a long pass through the Trapper defense, Taylor Buhrow charged at Smith, who came up to defend, only to watch
Buhrow slide a shot past her for the decisive score with 41:56 remaining. Kelcie George then netted a deflection past Smith in the 54th minute.
“I thought Mia played very well … she’s a little rusty, but she played well,” Hill said. “She’s only going to get better though. I have a ton of confidence in her.”
After going 0-3 against four-year schools in the scrimmage slate, Hill was hoping for a strong showing from his players Saturday. Still, he believes the Lady Trappers will bounce back quickly.
“We were missing some girls today that would’ve contributed to our attack, and that certainly didn’t help us,” Hill added. “We’re going to be OK once we started getting more of our pieces back in play.”
Results of the Trappers’ Wednesday and Thursday matches will be available in the Tuesday edition of the Powell Tribune.