GHS JV End Losing Streak With Win Over Eastside (22-Dec-07) 
 

The JV Lady 'Canes ended a two-game losing streak with a dominant win over the JV Lady Rams of Eastside. Often the play of the JV game presages the events that follow in the Varsity games, and the JV Lady 'Canes didn't disappoint, totally dominating their opponent from whistle to whistle.
 

Although they only scored one goal, the domination by the JV Lady 'Canes of the JV Lady Rams was complete. Only once did the Lady Rams mount an offensive charge, resulting in an off-target shot, which would be the lone strike of the evening for the JV Lady Rams. Abby Malpass opened the scoring on a Rohan assist in the 12th minute. That score opened a barrage of shot and opportunities, forcing a half-dozen saves from the JV Lady Rams' goalkeeper. In fact, the JV Lady Rams were out shot 19-to-1, but only one of those converted to a goal for a half-time score line of 1-0 in favor of the JV Lady 'Canes.
 

The second half was even more dominating than the first, with the JV Lady 'Canes tallying 16 shots, 8 of them on-frame, and forcing 5 saves. Laura Myers opened the scoring in the second half after just 4 minutes, striking home a pass from Abby Malpass in the 44th minute. This was followed by a shot off the post by Grace Rohan in the 55th minute. Grace later found the net in the 73rd minute after collecting a well-placed pass from Soledad Varela, and shooting it past the JV Lady Rams' goalkeeper for the third and final score of the game. Although the score was only half of what it was in their first meeting of the season, the JV Lady 'Canes were absolutely dominant. And this, considering that they played without their goalkeeper, requiring four players, Mayan Alvarado, Melissa Walsh, Jessica Sleeper and Taylor Simpson to each spend 20 minutes in goal during the game. The quartet combined for the shutout, and as a group only touched the ball four times.
 

The JV Lady 'Canes next face the Bartram Trail JV Lady Bears on Saturday, January 5, 2008 at 12:00 PM.
 

 GHS JV Win Streak Ends With Loss To Forest (14-Dec-07) 
 

The JV Lady 'Canes saw their unbeaten streak ended with a hard fought 0-1 loss to the JV Lady Wildcats of Forest High School. Both losses this season have been at the hands of the JV Lady Wildcats, with the earlier one this season a 0-4 loss in Ocala.
 

It was all JV Lady Wildcats on offense in the first half, with the JV Lady 'Canes defense and substitute goalkeeper Jaymi Bautista-Geiger doing everything they could keep the JV Lady Wildcats off the scoreboard. Through a withering barrage of eleven shots, seven of which were on frame, Jaymi Bautista-Geiger made 6 difficult saves, with the right post saving the last one. The JV Lady 'Canes offense was not able to push past the JV Lady Wildcats back line, but the defense held well, and everyone contributed to marking every opposing player and smothering attacks. The JV Lady Wildcats left the field frustrated, while the JV Lady 'Canes went to half time with a real hope for a victory.
 

It was more of the same in the second half, with the JV Lady Wildcats offense continuing their constant attacks, shelling the JV Lady 'Canes goal with nine more shots, seven of them on-frame. Jaymi Bautista-Geiger made three saves early in the half, but disappointment came in the 57th minute when a high shot came over a wall of players that screened the JV Lady 'Canes goalkeeper, and Jaymi Bautista-Geiger was beaten by a high ball just under the crossbar for the lone goal of the game. Jaymi made three more saves over the rest of the game, and had a scary moment when a second goal was called back for offside, but the lone goal would haunt the JV Lady 'Canes from there on out. The JV Lady 'Canes did manage to organize their offense for a few attacks, and did get two shots on goal, but they were perfunctory, and easily saved by the JV Lady Wildcats goalkeeper. Despite the heroic work of defenders like Christina Maree, Samantha Melzer and Jackie Nettles, and the dogged work by midfielders and attacker like Abby Malpass, Jessica Sleeper and Grace Rohan in trying to mount and attack, at the final whistle the JV Lady Canes had lost their second game of the season in a 0-1 shutout.
 

The JV Lady 'Canes next face the Flagler Palm Coast JV Lady Bulldogs on Wednesday, December 19 at 5:00 PM.
 

 GHS JV Win Streak At 8 With Eighth Shutout (13-Dec-07) 
 

The JV Lady 'Canes unbeaten streak stands now at an impressive 8 straight games. The 6-0 shutout of the JV Lady Hornets also marks the team's eighth shootout of the season, and 300 consecutive minutes holding opponents scoreless.
 

The first half was a duel between the JV Lady 'Canes attack and the JV Lady Hornets goalkeeper. With the Lady 'Canes cracking off 17 shots-on-goal in the first half, requiring the JV Lady Hornets goalkeeper to make 14 saves, it was only that extraordinary effort that kept the JV Lady Hornets in the game. Abby Malpass opened the scoring for the JV Lady 'Canes, notching her 4th goal of the season. Grace Rohan, on a Jessica Sleeper assist, scored the second goal of the game, and was followed up with a score by Christina Maree to bring the half-time tally to 3-0 in favor of the JV Lady 'Canes.
 

The second half saw the JV Lady Hornets goalkeeper continue her battle with the JV Lady 'Canes offense, notching another ten saves, with every shot the JV Lady 'Canes rained down on her on-frame. However, despite her valiant effort, the JV Lady Hornets' goalkeeper was unable to stop three of them. Grace started off the half to notch her second goal of the game, her eleventh goal of the season. Shannon Latimer added a fifth goal to the scoreboard, and her first for the season. The scoring came to an end with Brittany Underwood's goal, but the attack continued for the full 80 minutes, with the JV Lady 'Canes never relenting the entire game.
 

JV Lady 'Canes goalkeeper Kim Straile was tested only once while earning her seventh shutout of the season, but was injured in a collision which will leaver her unavailable for the next game.
 

The JV Lady 'Canes next test will be Friday, December 14 at 5:30 PM at home against the Forest JV Lady Wildcats.
 

 GHS JV Win Streak At 7 With Seventh Shutout (12-Dec-07) 
 

The JV Lady 'Canes continued their unbeaten streak, now at 7 straight games, with a 2-0 shutout of the JV Lady Knights of Vanguard High School. With the win the JV Lady 'Canes took the season series from the JV Lady Knights by winning both games.
 

The first half had the JV Lady Knights bunkered in defense, looking for an opportunity to counterattack that never materialized. The JV Lady Knights never approached the JV Lady 'Canes goal in any serious manner, unable to fire off a single shot. The reverse was not true for the JV Lady 'Canes, who pressed a constant attack, cracking off 7 shots and forcing 2 saves from the JV Lady Knights goalkeeper. However, the JV Lady 'Canes were unable to break through the hard-fouling JV Lady Knights' defense, and the half-time score ended knotted at 0 to 0, just as it did in their first game earlier this season.
 

The second half was a continuation of the first, with all the action at the feet of the JV Lady 'Canes. Although the JV Lady Knights continued their hard, physical style of play, the JV Lady 'Canes made the necessary adjustments, and put more pressure on the JV Lady Knights defense. The first goal was scored unassisted by Grace Rohan, who pounced on a missed clearance by the JV Lady Knights defense, and put the JV Lady 'Canes ahead by one. Grace's goal was followed up by an ESPN Top-10, unstoppable 25-yard rocket from Christina Maree, doubling the JV Lady 'Canes lead to 2 to 0. The score stayed that way for the rest of the game, despite a constant JV Lady 'Canes attack, because of some good saves by the JV Lady Knights goalkeeper.
 

JV Lady 'Canes goalkeeper Kim Straile recorded two saves in the second half, earning her sixth shutout of the season.
 

The JV Lady 'Canes next test will be Thursday, December 13 at 5:00 PM at Hawthorne versus the Hawthorne JV Lady Hornets.
 

 GHS JV Win Streak At 6 With Sixth Shutout (06-Dec-07) 
 

The JV Lady 'Canes stretched their current win streak to 6 games with a 3-0 shutout of the JV Lady Tigers of Columbia High School. With the win the JV Lady 'Canes took the season series from the JV Lady Tigers, winning both games.
 

Kim Straile, the stalwart goalkeeper for the JV Lady 'Canes, recorded her fifth shutout of the season. Although the JV Lady Tigers only managed to get off a few inconsequential shots, they did manage to get through the defense a few times on the dribble. However, Kim was there to stuff every attack, and keep the scoresheet clean for the JV Lady 'Canes.
 

The first half saw all of the scoring, with Abby Malpass and Samantha Corbin each scoring their third goal of the season, and Brittany Underwood scoring her first of the season. More goals could have fallen for the JV Lady 'Canes, except for some near misses and a few good saves by the JV Lady Tigers' goalkeeper.
 

The second half saw more of the same, with the JV Lady 'Canes stepping up the attack, and spending most of the half in JV Lady Tigers' territory. But no goals were scored by either side in the second half, and the game ended with the same score line as the first half, the JV Lady 'Canes 3 and the JV Lady Tigers O.
 

The JV Lady 'Canes next test will be Tuesday, December 11 at 6:00 PM at GHS versus the Vanguard JV Lady Knights.
 

 GHS JV Continues Unbeaten With Second Shutout (14-Nov-07) 
 

The JV Lady 'Canes stepped up for the return game against the JV Lady Celtics, and continued where they left off in the first game last week: offense, offense, offense! The victory over the JV Lady Celtics is leaves them undefeated for the season, and is their second consecutive shutout.
 

But it was solid defense that allowed the offense to thrive. A disciplined back line let very little through, and the only three serious threats, a lone shot on goal and two one-on-ones, were expertly handled by keeper Kim Straile. Kim has now kept her goal scoreless for 100 of her 255 minutes played this season.
 

An unbelievably high team work-rate for the duration of the game was what carried the day. With no standing around, all players on the field ran constantly. Laura Myers and Jessica Sleeper made hard attacking runs at the JV Lady Celtics defense at very opportunity, keeping them off balance all night. Jackie Nettles and Shannon Latimer single-mindedly hunted down and stuffed virtually every opposing attack that came into their zone. Samantha Corbin and Taylor Simpson consistently beat the opposing midfielders to 50-50 balls all night long, and smoothly transitioned from offense to defense and back again as quickly as the situation dictated. In fact, every athlete who took the field played full-throttle every second they were out there.
 

The JV Lady 'Canes offense gave the JV Lady Celtics keeper fits all night, requiring her to make some spectacular saves just to keep her team in the game. Kisha Weary's four-game scoring streak came to an end, but not for a lack of effort. Kisha, working hard the entire game, fired several punishing shots, with a couple of near misses, and two that rattled off the woodwork. The first goal was scored early in the first half, with Laura Myers feeding a good pass to Danielle Keyser, who finished it confidently for her second tally of the season. The second goal was less controlled, in a boiling cauldron of shots and blocks in front of the JV Lady Celtics goal, Laura Myers was finally able to toe-poke a quick short pass to Belinda Martin who slammed it home with authority for her second goal of the season. The second half did not see any goals for either side, but the JV Lady Celtics were able to mount a handful of attacks, with one that came close to scoring. The JV Lady 'Canes were as relentless in attack the second half as in the first, and were unlucky not to score several more goals.
 

The JV Lady 'Canes next test will be Friday, November 16 at 5:30 PM in Ocala against the Forest JV Lady Wildcats.
 

 GHS Junior Varsity Earns Third Win With First Shutout (08-Nov-07) 
 

In a fairly dominating performance over the Trinity JV Lady Celtics, the JV Lady 'Canes earned their third win of the season with a 3-0 shutout.
 

The first half opened with the JV Lady Celtics mouting their only attacks of the game, forcing an exceptional save from Kim Straile on the Celtics only shot of the game. The JV Lady 'Canes responded with two goals, one scored by Taylor Simpson on a brilliant individual run through the defense, and Kisha Weary added to the tally with a score from the penalty spot after a JV Lady Celtics hand ball in the penalty area. Jaymi Bautista-Geiger kept the JV Lady 'Canes goal untouched the remainder of the first half by cutting off a couple of crosses and smothering 3 one-on-one attackers before they could shoot.
 

In the second half, it was all JV Lady 'Canes. The defense thoroughly organized itself through the leadership of Sophomore Sweeper Christina Maree, keeping the Celtics to virtually no offensive play in the last 30 minutes. Kisha Weary scored her second goal of the game and fourth of the season off a quick set piece at the top of the penalty area, bringing the score to 3-0. Kisha Weary has now scored in each of the JV Lady 'Canes games. Offensively, the JV Lady 'Canes were very strong, and certainly would have scored more goals except for some exceptional saves by the opposing starting goalkeeper.
 

The JV Lady 'Canes will face a rematch with the JV Lady Celtics the very next game, at GHS, on Wednesday, November 14 at 5:30 PM.
 

 GHS Junior Varsity Opens Season With 2-0 Record (01-Nov-07) 
 

The GHS JV Lady 'Canes won their second in a row to open the 2007-08 season undefeated. The JV opened the season with a hard fought 2-1 victory over the Columbia JV Lady Tigers. They followed up with another victory, 5-1, over the PKY JV Lady Blue Wave.
 

Against Columbia JV Lady Tigers, Junior Samantha Corbin scored the first goal of the season on a breakaway, chipping the ball into the upper 90 of the goal. Samantha's goal was followed up when fellow Junior Captain Kisha Weary lofted the ball from well outside the penalty area, sending it right over the keeper's head and into the goal. The only goal conceded by the JV Lady 'Canes was an accidental own-goal on a missed clearance.
 

Against the PK Yonge JV Lady Blue Wave, the first half was a little shaky for the JV Lady 'Canes, where they conceded a goal, but were still able to come back and answer the score with two goals by Danielle Keyser and Kisha Weary. However, the JV Lady 'Canes definitely stepped it up in the second half, with Jessica Sleeper, Taylor Simpson, and Belinda Martin scoring three goals shutout the PK Yonge team for the entirety of the half. Taylor Simpson and Belinda Martin, representing for the freshmen, both made their mark in the midfield, each scoring a goal.
 

The next opponent will be away at Trinity Catholic in Ocala on Thursday, November 8 at 6:00 PM.