By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After being held scoreless for the first 151 minutes of the 2024 girls soccer season, a brief two-goal scoring flurry was enough to push Hayden to a 2-1 non-league victory over Free State Monday at Hayden.
Hayden senior Lauren Sandstrom (right) chasing Free State's Kate Foust for the ball, scored the Wildcats' first goal of the season in Monday's 2-1 home non-league win over Free State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Jill Lenherr scored the game-winning goal in Hayden's 2-1 win over Free State Monday at Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden was held scoreless in a 0-0 double-overtime stalemate against Cair Paravel Latin on Friday and fell behind Free State 1-0 in Monday's home-opener before turning the tables with two second-half goals in a span of 1 minute, 46 seconds.
Senior Kate Foust scored at the 28:46 mark of the first half to put Free State up 1-0, a lead that held up through the first half and 11 minutes into the second half, before Hayden senior Lauren Sandstrom connected on a long shot to tie the game at 1-1 with 28:33 remaining.
Wildcat senior Jill Lenherr then broke the tie at the 26:47 mark off an assist from sophomore Reese Huscher.
Hayden sophomore Reese Huscher (14), who had the assist on the Wildcats' game-winning goal, battles Free State's Siena Schamberger for a loose ball in Monday's game at Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Borjon and the Wildcat defense kept the Firebirds out of the back of the net the rest of the way as the Wildcats improved to 1-0-1.
"Defensively we've done OK although we had a little lapse in the first half but offense is where we've struggled a little bit and I don't know why,'' Hayden coach Klaus Kreutzer said. "In practice we seem to do OK but it's been a struggle (in games) because when you don't score then it's really tough on you when they score on you first.''
And now that his Wildcats have gotten on the scoreboard a couple of times, Kreutzer is hoping his team, third in Class 4A-1A a year ago, can build on that moving forward.
"I feel good about the fact that we kept our head and worked a little bit harder the second half,'' Kreutzer said. "That made me feel a little bit better, scoring goals and then winning was good as well but just the effort just to create some opportunities, that was big for me.''
HAYDEN 2, FREE STATE 1
Free State 1 0 -- 1
Hayden 0 2 -- 2
Free State -- Goal: Foust.
Hayden -- Goals: Sandstrom, Lenherr. Assist: Huscher.
