A hat trick from German freshman Pauline Detering helped the No. 16 Neosho County Panthers lay waste to the Hesston Larks, 5-1, at home on a windy Saturday afternoon in KJCCC play.
Hesston drew first blood, taking a 1-nil lead 10 minutes into the first half. Detering scored her first goal three minutes later to knot the score.
Sophomore All-American Olivia Gibson scored in the 36th minute to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead at half. Detering then scored two more times in the second half — her goals sandwiched a brilliant header from Japanese sophomore Aoi Kanno.
“Obviously we went 1-nil down and it was a little unfortunate,” Neosho County head coach Aaron Dowsett said. “We kept positive and kept doing the right things. In the second half, we were able to keep the ball a little bit better and we put in a good, professional performance.”
Detering cited her outing as a confidence booster.
“My confidence needed to grow,” Detering said. “Once the game got going, it started going good. We’re growing together as a team. Our training is going well. We’re playing very well together.”
Dowsett credited Detering for being a Swiss Army knife.
“She made really good runs and she’s a good finisher,” Dowsett said. “She’s scored a lot of goals this season. That showed today with her hat trick. She took all of her opportunities. She scored three different types of goals today, so she can be pleased with her performance. She played all over the field today as a left back, as a striker and a midfielder. She always gets on with it with a good attitude.”
Gibson, usually the team’s top scoring option, only saw spot action as she was hobbled with a knee brace. She was subbed out shortly after giving the Panthers a spark and a 2-1 lead.
“Everybody knows how vital Olivia is to the team,” Dowsett said. “She was struggling with an injury today, but we brought her own for a bit. She netted a goal for us, but we wanted to make sure we weren’t making her any worse so we brought her off.”
Dowsett also said that he expects Gibson to be available at nearly full strength in the Panthers’ next match against Johnson County.
“It’s not a serious injury,” Dowsett said. “Obviously we’ve got a big game coming up against Johnson County, so we want her available for the full game.”
The win for Neosho County was the Panthers’ fifth in a row. Neosho County has allowed just one goal in that stretch, which came on Saturday, and sits at 7-2 overall on the season.
“We’ve defended well from the front,” Dowsett said. “When you defend well as a team, it starts with the players at the front. It’s been a collective showing with our defensive record. The players deserve all of the credit for that. They’re determined to not concede goals.”
Up next
Neosho County travels north to face No. 2 Johnson County on Saturday. Johnson County got the better of Neosho County, 2-nil, on Sept. 11.
Should Johnson County prevail, it’ll carry the inside track to an outright KJCCC title. If the Panthers prevail, the two clubs will be tied atop the standings going into the backstretch.
