IRON MOUNTAIN — After 40 minutes of scoreless play Thursday at Mountaineer Stadium, the Iron Mountain women's varsity soccer team scored the first goal in the second half against Kingsford.
However, the Frivers scored two goals late on and won 2-1.
For head coach Jennette Gambill, Kingsford will need to focus on maintaining energy throughout the game.
“We still need to maintain the intensity from the first half to the second half.” Gambhir said. “They still look a little tired. We have to bring that same intensity into the second half.”
The last time these two teams met, Iron Mountain was without multiple players and Kingsford cruised to an 8-0 victory at Comemorial Field. That was April 19th.
“Obviously we were exponentially better than our first game against them.” Mountaineers coach Carly Lambert said. “It was very exhilarating. They played their hearts out. I couldn't have asked for anything more.”
After the game, Lambert praised his players for their improvement during a stressful three-game week.
“Maybe that was an advantage for us.” Lambert said. “It's better for the team to learn how to work together in a real game. You can't have a full scrimmage in practice, you don't have enough personnel. So I think that was actually an advantage for them.”
But the climbers had other motives as well. …Three consecutive holidays.
“To be fair, we told them (Friday) was off, so we told them they had a three-day weekend.” IM coach Bethany Merrill said. “They've been playing really well this week as a team compared to individuals.
“We've only made improvements. I'm happy with all the girls.”
Neither team scored in the first half, but Frivers had several chances. Couldn't get past Mountaineers senior goaltender Emily Copley.
Copley hit multiple shots to keep his team tied at 0 points at the half.
In the second half, Iron Mountain increased their intensity and broke through less than three minutes into the game.
Junior Alexis Buchanan found herself wide open in front of the Kingsford net and was the one to get it done. She kicked the ball past Arianna Kowalski and into the left corner, giving the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead.
The crowd roared after the goal, and the Frivers struggled at Mountaineer Stadium.
“It was really stressful.” Gambhir said. “They passed really well and played well.”
For the next 15 minutes, both teams competed for position, but no one could find the back of the goal.
Megan Bittinger, a senior at Kingsford, then began taking over.
She continued to pick up the pace, and Bittinger sank a right-footed shot with 23 minutes left to tie the game at one point.
With three minutes left in the game, Bittinger signed a contract with the Flivars.
She took a sliding shot that went over Copley's head and into the goal.Kingsford suddenly held a 2-1 lead.
“She did a really good job.” Gambhir said. “She was taking a lot of shots in goal, so it was nice to get the shot.”
The Frivers return to action Tuesday at Houghton at 4 p.m., and Iron Mountain takes on Three Lakes at Mountaineer Stadium Tuesday at 6 p.m.
“It would be disappointing to lose our seniors and we only have three regular season games left.” Lambert said.