Chanute keeps rolling with winning streak
Notching a tick in the win column for the first time in program history, the Chanute Blue Comets defeated the Paola Panthers, 1-nil, on Thursday afternoon in girls soccer action in front of a home crowd.
“It’s just joy and pure happiness,” Chanute head coach Kelsey Fox said. “I’m so happy for the girls. Especially for our seniors who have been in the program all three years, they deserve this. I’m overjoyed for them. They wanted this and I’m so happy for them.”
Shamirra Rice, a junior forward for the Blue Comets, connected with the match’s lone goal midway through the first half.
“We had a good cross inside,” Fox said. “Anytime we can cause chaos in the box, that’s fantastic. For her to get a touch and have it go in is amazing. It was her second goal of the season, so it’s working for her.”
The Blue Comets dominated possession for much of the match, keeping the ball on Paola’s half and limiting the questions asked of Chanute’s back line.
“That was the entire thing for us,” Fox said. “We watched film and saw how we needed to attack. There were moments where we executed really well. There’s still moments we can improve upon. But we wanted to stay aggressive.”
If anything, Chanute left goals on the field — a missed penalty kick and a handful of prime opportunities in the box had the Panthers on their heels.
“It’ll come with practice,” Fox said. “If you ever watch a professional match, the scores aren’t high. We’ve just got to focus on not freaking out when they get in the box and just placing a shot. That’s going to come with experience. We’ve got freshmen out there. They’ll start going in. It’ll just come with more practice and more experience.”
Chanute started its girls soccer program two years ago and went winless in its first two seasons. Earlier in the week, the Blue Comets held a 2-nil lead over Pittsburg before their opponents stormed back in the second half to win, 6-2.
“We talk about how you have to find the small wins,” Fox said. “We weren’t going to compete against higher class teams that have been a program for 20 years. We just had to keep communicating and getting better. I always gave them three things that I wanted to see. But tonight, we executed really well.”
The Blue Comets turned their first win into a winning streak, defeating Raytown on penalty kicks, 1-1 (3-2), on Saturday.
After trailing 1-nil, Nicole Delgado delivered the equalizer for Chanute with a goal in the second half.
Marie Wright, Ella Guernsey and Abby Fisher converted their penalty kicks to deliver the Blue Comets’ second straight win.
Up next
Chanute travels to Bonner Springs on Tuesday.
