The Penn Girls Soccer team faced a disappointing 3-2 loss to Homestead High School over the weekend.
Anika Gunther (senior) scored both goals for the Kingsmen during this away game, receiving both assists from Emily Sachire (freshman).
Homestead is ranked #9 and Penn is ranked #24, both teams being in class 3A.
Penn started off strong, controlling the game. They had possession for over 80% of the half. Anika Gunther scores early, exciting the Kingsmen. The game had seemed almost too easy at this point and the energy started to drop. Quickly after this first goal, Homestead found a way to get the ball in the back of the net.
At this point, there was still plenty of time left on the clock. The score was tied up. Later in the half Penn scored again. Less than a minute later Homestead broke down the Kingsmen’s defence and scored a tap-in. This angered the kingsmen and excited the Homestead Spartans. The first half ended in a 2-2 tie.
Going into the second half the Kingsmen held possession still, but could not find a way to score. Homestead had another breakaway and scored, making the score 3-2. With about 20 minutes still left in the game, the Kingsmen did not give up. Neither did the Spartans. Both teams had chances to get more goals but were not successful.
Until the final whistle, the Penn Girls Soccer team fought hard. Both teams brought aggression and energy. This was a disappointing and unexpected loss for the Penn girls.
Head Coach Jeff Hart knows the girls were challenged this week and says that he ¨set up this week to prepare for sectionals and regionals week…¨, preparing the girls for hard back-to-back games and to get their mindsets right.
