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After enduring a tough non-league schedule that saw the Canby girl’s soccer team score only five goals in seven games, the Cougars (1-6-2, 1-1 Three Rivers League) turned their fortunes around Tuesday night to clinch their first win of the season against St. Mary’s Academy (3-4-2, 1-1 TRL).
The Cougars, who entered the game with an 0-5-2 record, started off down early. A quick Blues goal put the Cougars down 1-0 early on. Rather than get down on themselves, Roberto Maestretti’s squad kept pushing. Senior Ashley Peterson scored two goals in quick succession to take a 2-1 lead, a score that would remain at halftime.
It was the third time in the last four games that Canby held a halftime lead. The Cougars have been steadily improving on the offensive end over the last few games, but haven’t been able to close games. Tuesday night, the girls were determined to change that.
“We were finally playing as a team,” said senior Mallory Scott. “We were able to string together passes easily through the middle field and the wings. It’s what we’ve been practicing but we’re finally able to execute.”
Kendel Johnston took it to the goal in the second half and put it past the Blues goalie to take a 3-1 lead. It was the Cougars’ first time scoring more than one goal in a game all season, and the joyous energy on the field was palpable.
The Canby defense, who had played good first halves all season, dominated. The Blues were able to score once more in the half, but that was all. As the horn sounded, Canby had won a game for the first time all season; final score: Canby 3, St. Mary’s 2.
The win actually put the Cougars briefly on top of the Three Rivers League standings at 1-0, but a Wednesday matchup against Lakeridge changed that. The 5-0 loss for Canby ends a long, four-game road trip where the Cougars went 1-2-1.
Canby is finally back at Cougar Stadium for a three-game home stand after two straight weeks on the road, facing the Tualatin Timberwolves (4-2-3, 1-0-1 TRL) on Monday and Lake Oswego Lakers (7-0-2, 1-0-1 TRL) Wednesday. Both games kick off at 7 p.m.
