Fairbanks’ Kate Coy (11) and Bishop Ready’s Abigail Grundei (right) collide during Monday’s Division III tournament game. FHS’ Kate Ruff (17) proceeds to move the ball in the other direction. The Lady Panthers won, 2-0. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
The weather was dreary and drizzling Monday afternoon when Fairbanks’ girls soccer squad faced Columbus Bishop Ready.
The outcome of the Division III tournament game, though, was anything but dark for the Lady Panthers.
FHS, which is the No. 4 seed in the tournament, upped its record to 10-6 with a 2-0 victory over the No. 12 Silver Knights.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we’re moving on,” said Lady Panther head coach Randy Spain.
Athletes from both sides had to contend with a combination of a wet ball and field.
As such, play was a bit slow for Spain’s liking.
The combatants played a field position game for much of the contest.
Fairbanks had more opportunities at the net than its Franklin County counterparts.
Lady Panther keeper Madi Cook had to turn away only three Silver Knight shots on goal.
On the other hand, Ready net minder Alyssa Sanders encountered 11 Panther scoring attempts.
Sanders turned away nine of those shots.
The two she wasn’t able to handle provided the difference in the contest.
Elaina Lahmers placed Fairbanks’ first goal in the net with 11:49 remaining in the opening half.
The score was actually the result of solid teamwork between a trio of Lady Panthers.
Rebecca Dean fed the ball to Carly Lehman, who in turn moved it to Lahmers for the 1-0 lead.
“We had some nice give-and-go passes during the game,” said Spain.
The Lady Panthers took their one-goal edge into the halftime break.
They tallied an insurance score with 18:42 left on the second-half timer.
Avery Groves nudged the ball past Sanders on an assist from Anna Poling.
“It was good to get a shutout and multiple players got into the game,” said Spain.
Fairbanks will return to tournament action on Saturday.
The Lady Panthers will host No. 5 seed Lancaster Fisher Catholic.
The game time is tentatively set for 4 p.m.