SHINDLE - It never helps to be undermanned and inexperienced. The Mifflin County Christian girls soccer team is painfully aware of this.
With only eight players on the roster - many of whom aren't even yet in high school - it can be difficult to take on larger, more experienced teams.
And Monday afternoon, when the Eagles lost to Calvary Christian 6-3, this couldn't have been more true.
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Sentinel photo by BRADLEY KREITZER
The Eagles’ Teri Moon, left, takes control of the ball from the Conquerors’ Erin Kilian (3) Monday in Shindle.
On a high note, the 6-3 loss was a big improvement over the 8-1 loss the Eagles took last time they faced Calvary Christian.
"My girls were far less intimidated. We played with a lot more confidence, and we played a lot more aggressively. That was huge. They weren't intimidated at all," Mifflin County Christian coach Shannon Murdock said.
Another high note - Mifflin County Christian was leading after two quarters.
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Mifflin County Christian hosts Meadowbrook on Oct. 16.
With only 16 players on the field - eight for each team - there were some wide open gaps on the pitch, and the Eagles took full advantage of this to make the score 2-1 after two quarters.
Mifflin County Christian's Tori Moon was instrumental in making those two goals happen. The first goal she scored unassisted as she drew the keeper out of the box then shot into the vacated goal. The second time the Eagles scored, with only 20 seconds left in the second quarter, it came after Moon made a nice feed to Julee Hoffman, who just snuck it past Calvary Christian's diving goalie.
But, despite the lead going into the third quarter, Calvary Christian's Marisa Teeters would be the Eagles' undoing.
Teeters scored four of her team's six goals, and they all came in the third and fourth quarters.
Murdock thought her team lost some of its mental edge after Calvary Christian started scoring.
"I think (Calvary Christian) got a little bit more physical, and that definitely shut us down. We stopped passing - we started making all the mistakes that we normally do. I think it kind of threw off our mental game."
In addition to this, it was probably just a simple case of numbers that led to the Eagles' shut down. Calvary Christian's roster was almost three times larger than Mifflin County Christian's, and the Eagles just started to lose steam.
Mifflin County Christian (1-5) hosts Meadowbrook Christian on October 16.
