Jacks make it look easy as they beat William Jessup 4-0 at home
It was a moment of glory for Humboldt State women’s soccer as they shut out the William Jessup Warriors and collected their first win. After a rough start to the season, the Jacks found a way to turn their errors around and create game winning plays.
Three minutes into the first half was all it took for midfielder Lindsay Stoner to score the opening goal. This scoring opportunity gave midfielder Sabine Postma a chance to capitalize on a second goal minutes later. Jacks held a 2-0 lead just five minutes into the game.
Since the start of the season, the Jacks have outshot every opponent but have come up short on finishing for a goal. Midfielder Pikake Hix produced six shots on goal and scored during the second half, putting the Jacks at a 3-0 lead.
“I think we’ve always been able to build well as a team,” Hix said. “We just haven’t been able to finish.”
HSU forward #4 Kendal Spencer tries for a standing tackle on the William Jessup. | Photo by Liam Warner HSU midfielder #7 Rose Hartman sizes up the Jessup defender. | Photo by Liam Warner HSU midfielder #16 Sabine Postma takes on the William Jessup defender. | Photo by Liam Warner
Warriors’ goalkeeper Camile Cavey put forth a valiant effort of 13 saves, but it was not enough to sway her team’s morale to overcome the onslaught of the Jacks’ offensive line.
“We knew we had to come out hard,” Hix said. “Especially for our first home-opener, we were excited. We wanted to keep the momentum up.”
It was all quiet on the western front for Jacks’ goalkeeper Katelin Talbert. The effectiveness of their offense ensured that the Warriors would struggle to keep the ball out of their zone.
With the second half winding down, the final goal came from Jacks’ midfielder Rose Harman. The Jacks now held a 4-0 lead over the Warriors. Harman pointed out that an important strategy of the game was to capitalize on the momentum.
“We had more of an attacking mentality especially coming into the second half,” Harman said. “We knew we needed more goals and wanted more goals. So playing positive instead of negatively and just finding the pockets to play the ball was definitely our strategy.”
Jessup forward #44 Abigail House takes on HSU midfielder #16 Sabine Postma. | Photo by Liam Warner HSU midfielder Rose Harmon looks for her next move as she takes the ball up the field. | Photo by Liam Warner HSU midfielder Pikake Hix sends a cross into the penalty box with a Jessup defender in front of her. | Photo by Liam Warner
After the game, head coach Paul Karver spoke with his players about their performance against William Jessup. He was satisfied with overcoming a scoring deficit that the team has experienced in their last games, but most importantly he enjoyed letting all his players get play time. However, Karver didn’t ignore the fact that too many opportunities for goals were overlooked.
“When you have as much goal creating production as we have I think we need to do a better job at finishing the opportunities,” Karver said. “We spent the last year and a half really reworking the system to create these opportunities for the players, and it’s something that’s difficult.”
Women’s soccer will play their next game at College Creek Field against San Francisco State University. This recent win has created momentum for the team to capitalize on, and for players like Rose Harman, they look forward to competing against SFSU.
HSU forward Erin Siegel #2 gets a shot off as she is draped by Jessup defenders. | Photo by Liam Warner #14 Selena Osorio leads the attack for the Jacks in the second half. | Photo by Liam Warner #16 Sabine Postma and #22 Pikake Hix celebrate after the Jacks scored to go up 4-0 and seal the win. | Photo by Liam Warner
“We need to keep the attacking mentality like I said in this game during the second half,” Harman said. “They’re a good team and it’s gonna be a challenge, but we’re up for it.”