Past Seasons
You never know ...
In 2005 I added the page comparing the season and our games to a book. I wrote a couple lines about each game and gave each game a title. Some of the players even helped name a chapter or two. Towards the end of the 2006 season a couple players asked about this and said that they missed this. SO ... In 2007 we will be again starting our book.
Chapter TitlesWhat the Heck ???
Each game is like a new chapter in a book. Each game is part of the entire story of the season but is also a new beginning, a fresh start. Each player writes part of the book in a new chapter every time she steps upon the field. If you write a bad chapter one day, you have a chance to fix it and come out and 'write' a better chapter the next. The entire season then becomes the book we write each season. Will the book have a happy ending ??? Will you as a player add good parts to each chapter ???
PROLOGUE - PRESEASON
Contact Day #0 - Washout ...
15 minutes before we were to start, thunderstorms come through. Rather than
waiting it out we canceled to save the day for later.
Contact #1 - A New Beginning ...
17 of the 22 on the roster attended. Just beginning basics. We are preparing
for a scrimmage game against Grandview Heights and for the Bexley Showcase.
Contact #2 - Grandview Heights ...
A beautiful evening of soccer. 17 of us played on the new turf field at
Grandview Heights High School. 3 - 30 minute periods were played.
The scores were 0-2 , 0-1 and 1-1
Contact #3 & #4 - Bexley Showcase
Darby 0-7 & Teays Valley 0-2 on Day one
Westerville South 1-3 & Gahanna 0-3 on Day Two
'nough said !!!
TEAM CAMP ...
The Good, The Bad and the UGLY !!!
The Good...We are placed in the top bracket and are up against some really
good teams.
The Bad...We are placed in the top bracket and are up against some really
good teams.
The Ugly ... You should see what our feet look like after 10 days of soccer
on hot hard turf!!!
Contact #5 & #6 - Northmont Good Samaritan
The Walking Wounded ...
4 games ... 1-3 record
Twin Valley 3-0, Northmont Green 0-7, Valley View 0-1, Centerville 0-6
We played most excellent !!! The coaches could not have been more proud of
the work ethic, determination, and commitment to each other that developed
at the tournament. We started with 17, grew to 20 and ended with 11 !!!
Summer Sessions ...
It's over ... Time to get down to business !!!
The Week that was ...
The Ross County fair week came and went with no practice. This past week with it's
two-a-days in the 100 degree heat and super scrimmage on Saturday signals an
end to the preseason. The coaching staff has been very proud of the work put
in by the team this week. We are excited about the season. The next couple
weeks see us playing some of the
toughest teams we see all year. Congratulations to Captain
Hannah Janes, and Kendra Dalton plus Tasha Harrington, Jennifer McCoy, and Megan Roll as the
summer ZT girls that have earned
players of the week. The epilogue is closed ... Now for
CHAPTER ONE ... JACKSON
TITLE: Hot Time in Chillicothe
Player of the game: Kayla Graves
The weather was hot and muggy and the grass was tall but that did not
deter the young ZT Pioneers. The young freshman and sophomores of the
Pioneers stepped up their play and with the able leadership of the Juniors
and Seniors pulled this game out. Play was back and forth for nearly the
entire first half, with both sides getting few opportunities at goal.
Finally with just 3 minutes to go in the half Freshman Winger Ali Pillow
slotted a low hard shot at the near post in which the Jackson Keeper could
not handle cleanly and Senior Kayla Graves netted the rebound. The second
half saw Jackson come out strong and with about four minutes gone in the
half IronLady Candace Chapman rocketed a shot by ZT keeper Hannah Janes.
Despite the setback, the Pioneers would not be denied. Just minutes later,
Freshman Midfielder Amelia Halley dribbled two defenders and chipped the
Jackson Keeper who could not do anything but watch the ball sail over
her head. After the goal both defenses settled in and held off furious
attacks by both teams. Senior Kayla Graves was awarded the game ball
for her play at both ends of the field.
CHAPTER TWO ... HILLSBORO
TITLE: Things that go bump in the night ...
Player of the game: Alisha Thompson
From the opening whistle things got physical. It was apparent that Hillsboro
would be trying to physically intimidate the young players of ZT. However,
with a solid core of seniors and juniors to stiffen the resolve of the team
the Lady Pioneers would not back down. Tasha Harrington started the scoring
for the Pioneers with a goal early in the game. Hillsboro tallied the next
three of the half make the score 3-1 at the break. The second half saw the
Pioneers Kendra Dalton rally and score early to get the game close at 2-3.
The Pioneers had some chances to tie the game up but came away empty. With
about 15 minutes to play a Hillsboro Corner Kick led to a scrum in front of
the ZT net and the ball squeaked into the corner. The goal rattled the
Pioneers and in quick succession Hillsboro rattled off 2 more goals. Kendra
Dalton netted her second goal of the game with a perfectly placed free kick
with just minutes to play. Pioneer Alisha Thompson with her hard work and
steadfast play on the defensive side of the ball was named the player of the
game.
CHAPTER THREE ... LOGAN
TITLE: Thunder & Lightning
Player of the Game: Kendra Dalton
Playing the 3rd game in 5 days in 100 degree temperature and with the threat
of storms saw the Pioneers come out very sluggish. If you count the JV game
(L 2-4) just prior to the varsity game then some of the ladys actually
played 4 games in 5 days. Logan was a step quicker to the ball and sharper
mentally and that resulted in a quick one nothing lead. However, falling
behind awoke the inner fire of one young pioneer. And soon a Pioneer Thunder
Storm appeared on the field. Senior Kendra Dalton took the weight of the
team upon her shoulders and would not allow the team to lose. Quickly the
game was tied up and the Pioneers began to take control ... However, a
miscue on a corner kick saw the Pioneers go down again. Dark clouds began
forming in the south as storms were approaching. However, the Kendra storm
would not be abated and Kendra she netted an additional goal and assisted on
Tasha Harringtons goal as ZT took a slim 3-2 lead that held until halftime. The second half
settled down for both teams as ZT and Logan had some good chances to
finished but just could not find the back of the net. With 22 minutes
to play Lightning delayed the game and finally the game was called due to
weather. The Thunder provided by Kendra propelled ZT to victory, while the
lightning provided by nature ended the game early.
The JV game saw 6 of the Cross Country girls aid in the play. Logan held a slim one nothing lead at the half. The young Pioneers did well to contain Logan for the most part and began to see success in their attacks at the game ended. The heat and sun did in the Pioneers who only had one sub and finally succumbed to Logan 4-2. Ali Pillow scored two goals for ZT while Sam Grizzel and Bekah Coretti kept the nets.
CHAPTER FOUR ... Unioto
TITLE: The Golden Ball
Players of the game: Tasha Harrington & Ashley Arnold
The Mythical Golden Ball representing the undefeated SVC championship team
once again resides in the home of the Zane Trace Pioneers. Again playing in
near 100 degree temperature the action was fast and furious. ZT came out and
immediately pressured the Unioto goal. And only 7 minutes in
Kendra Dalton was fouled in the box and netted her first goal of the game on
a PK. The goal seemed to spur Unioto into action and the game see sawed back
and forth until Unioto forward, Emily Cozad netted the equalizer. The game
settled down until freshman Amelia Halley found Kendra on a breakaway and
Kendra netted her second goal of the game with only 2 minutes remaining in
the half. The second half saw the Pioneers come out strong and with
only 10 minutes gone Ashley Arnold took a Dalton pass and scored her first
goal of the season. Amelia Halley ended the scoring with a beautiful placed
free kick into the upper 90 with 10 minutes left in the game. Tasha
Harrington for her outstanding play at midfield and Ashley Arnold for her
play at forward and wing were awarded the game ball.
CHAPTER FIVE ... Bishop Hartley
TITLE: Rope-a-Dope
Player of the game: Hannah Janes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope-a-dope
Playing a 4-5-1 the Pioneers stayed back in the defensive end allowing
Hartley control of the midfield, while looking for opportunities for quick
counter attacks. Early in the game an opportunity presented itself and
Senior Pioneer Kendra Dalton broke free from the double team coverage and
was eventually fouled just outside the box for her efforts. Kendra stepped
up and sliced the free kick through the wall past a diving Hawk Keeper. The
Pioneers then held on to the lead making into half up 1-0. The second half
saw the Pioneers keeper Hannah Janes stand tall in the nets. She was awarded
the game ball for her outstanding efforts. In the second half the Pioneers
bent but would not break. However, with just over 2 minutes to go a PK was
awarded to the Hawks after a six person pile up on a loose ball in the ZT
box. Janes in a full extension dive deflected the shot ... then after
regaining her feet deflected the second shot and then finally the deflected
ball found the foot of a Hartley forward and she buried the third shot
equalizer. The outstanding efforts of the ZT Pioneer Senior Class, Arnold,
Dalton, Graves, Janes and McCoy in leading the team and demanding that each
and every other ZT girl that set foot on the field leave nothing on the
sidelines, made sure the Pioneers would not be deterred.
Chapter Six ... West Muskingum
TITLE: Labor Day Vacation ???
Player of the Game: Kendra Dalton
Taking the girls away for a Labor Day vacation trip to sunny
Warsaw/Coshocton, the 2 1/2 hour trip was worth it if you ask the coaching
staff ... Ask a few parents ... and you might get another answer ... ;o) The
First game of the Inaugural Warsaw Riverview Labor Day Girls Soccer Festival
was played by West Muskingum and Zane Trace. Both teams played hard in the
over 90 degree heat of the day. About half way through the first half the
Tornadoes rocketed a shot that ZT keeper Janes got her hands on but could
not control and the Tornado forward scored the rebound. Both sides gave as
much as they got. Pioneers defenders Alisha Thompson, Ashley Watson and
Kayla Graves battered the Tornado forwards as they pressed into the box.
Pioneer forward Kendra Dalton was pounded to the ground again and again in
attempts to net the equalizer. Hard physical play was seen at both ends of
the field and no quarter was expected and none given. Very few fouls were
called on either team as despite the play being hard it was not dirty.
Kendra Dalton was awarded the player of the game for her hard work up front.
The college coaches present commented favorably on a few of the Pioneer
ladies and we are sure calls will be forth coming !!!
Chapter Seven ... Fairfield Union
TITLE: In sickness and in Health
Player of the Game: ENTIRE TEAM
Playing it's third game in four days, the Third time turned out to be a
charm. The Zane Trace Lady Pioneers defeated Fairfield Union at Fairfield
Union 3-0, Tuesday. The Pioneers struggled in the first half. Hobbled by
sluggish legs and half the team having colds ... The Pioneers were almost
run off the field. Stellar Keeper Work by Senior Captain Hannah Janes kept
the game in reach. It was just 3 minutes into the second half when Freshman
Amelia Halley's shot found the underside of the crossbar and rebounded out
to Senior Kendra Dalton who finished easily. 10 minutes later the scenario
repeated itself as Halley's shot hit the crossbar and rebounded straight up
and when it came down the keeper was "nudged" and she mishandled the ball
and it fell into the back of the goal. Finally. freshman Megan Roll rounded
out the scoring by tallying her first high school goal with 15 minutes to
play.
Having played 7 games in 15 days the Zane Trace Pioneers stand at 4-2-1.
We've played 7 games ... Each of them in at least 90 degree temperature, one
of them was played in 102 degree heat. We now have a break in the schedule
and it allow us to actually practice and work on the things that we have not
had a chance to over these two weeks. We play 5 games over the 25 days. For
the effort and overcoming sickness and playing it's third game in four days
the entire team was awarded the game ball.
Chapter Eight: Logan Elm
Title: Go Back !!! It's a Trap !!!
Player of the game: Ashley Watson
Looking in the rear view mirror of last year. Logan Elm did not win a game.
This year however, under new leadership the Braves entered last nights
contest with the Pioneers with a respectable 1-2-2 record. The trap was
ready ... Would the Lady Pioneers fall prey ??? Logan Elm played an inspired
game, however, the steadfastness of the Pioneer defense denied the Braves
the nets the entire night. In the very first minutes of both halves Senior
Kendra Dalton knocked in goals to douse the Braves fires of desire. Skaggs
and Harrington added additional first half goals to pace the Pioneers to
victory. The trap was sprung ... but unluckily for the Braves it was
empty and the Pioneers prevailed. Ashley Watson for her work at stopper was
awarded the game ball.
Chapter Nine: Lynchburg Clay
Title: Missed it by ... that much !!! ;o)
Player of the Game: Kendra Dalton
Kendra Dalton in cooperation with Amelia Halley stole the opening kickoff
from the Lynchburg Mustangs ... dribbled the midfield and buried the ball
into the back of the net with only :13 seconds off the clock. Kendra sets a
NEW school record as the fastest goal ever scored by a Zane Trace Soccer
player. Assistant Coach Ashley Palmer was relieved when the official time of
the goal was posted as when she was in high school she scored a goal in only
:11 seconds. The Pioneers scored again later in the half as Senior Jennifer
McCoy netted a corner from Tiffany Skaggs. The half ended with ZT in command
up 2 to nothing. The second half saw end to end play by both teams as both
gave as much as they got. The Pioneers misses a couple good chances as the
ball hit the post and rebounded out ... and we just could not get a foot on
it. A couple near chances by the Pioneers just did not get finished
well. So with a couple near chances missed and Kendra missing Coach Palmers
record by seconds ... the words spoke so eloquently by agent 86 ... Maxwell
Smart ... become this weeks title!! MISS IT BY ... THAT MUCH !!! ;o)
The hard work of Kendra Dalton earns her player of the game for the third
time this year. The defense earns their 3rd shutout in a row.
Chapter Ten: Minford
Chapter Title: DeJa Vu
Player of the Game: Cassie Clifton
Chapter Eleven: Groveport Madison
Chapter Title: Home Sweet Home
Player of the Game: Kendra Dalton
Groveport came into Pioneer Stadium with a 1-7-1 record to face off against
the Pioneers playing only their 2nd home game of the season in Pioneer
Stadium. On the face of it, it would be an easy game for the Lady Pioneers.
However, Groveport plays in the tough OCC league and its losses come to the
likes of Gahanna. So it was not to be an easy game. The started in slow
motion as both teams came out sluggish. However, it was the Pioneers that
jump started the game when Kendra Dalton headed home the first goal. 5
minutes later Kendra buried a free kick into the back of the net to send the
teams to halftime with ZT on top 2-0. The second half saw the Groveport
Cruisers come out fired up and pressured ZT. However, the stalwart defense
headed by Senior Goalie Captain Hannah Janes recorded their 5th straight
shut out. The Lady Pioneers have yielded 12 goals in 11 games. Dalton scored
her third goal of the game earning a hat trick to finish the scoring. From
the top of the roster to the bottom of the roster the entire Lady Pioneer
team contributed to the victory. The Pioneers are now 8-2-1. The Pioneers
play 4 of their last 6 games at home. It's good to be home again.
Chapter Twelve: Canal Winchester
Chapter Title: Homecoming
Player of the Game: Defense
The 9-1-1 Canal Winchester Indians entered Pioneer Stadium Saturday atop the
league in the Mid State. This large Division One team school nearly has
twice the number of girls that ZT has. Both teams have been riding high.
Canal had not lost a game since opening day, while ZT had not lost a game
since the third day of September. With homecoming the night before and the
dance on Saturday the odds looked to be in Canals favor. But a solid week of
good practice stood the Pioneers well. Both teams came out slugging and each
could not get the better of the other. The Pioneer defense with Senior
Hannah Janes in the goal had allowed only 5 goals in the past 9 games.
The defense of Senior Ashley Arnold, Senior Kayla Graves, Junior Alisha
Thompson and Sophomore Ashley Watson have had 5 consecutive shuts outs and
have a 1.1 goals against average entering the game. With both teams giving
as much as they got the game at half stood at 0-0. If the spectators thought
that the teams played well in the first half, they were not to be let down
as after half BOTH teams stepped up a notch. With about 25 minutes to play
Canal had a breakaway in which Janes came out to the top of the box to break
up preserving the shut out to that point. Finally with about 15 minutes to
play a through ball found winger Tiffany Skaggs breaking down the right side
of the field. A perfectly place cross found Kendra Dalton in the box who
netted home the first goal of the game. With the Pioneers up one, the game
got interesting. Both teams again stepped it up and the Pioneer
defense fended off several furious Canal attacks while at the same time the
defense of Canal came up big keeping the Pioneers off the board late.
Finally a great run down the wing and a cross to the back post found a Canal
foot as she netted home the tying goal with just two minutes to play. The
final two minutes found the Indians in control with the momentum and it took
a huge effort by the entire Pioneer team and an outstanding effort by the
Pioneer defense to keep the game tied. The Pioneers are now 8-2-2 and
Canal exits the game 9-1-3. There is no rest for the weary as the 8-2-2
Pioneers will take on the 9-3-1 Amanda Clearcreak Aces in Stoutsville on
Monday.
Chapter Thirteen: Amanda Clearcreek
Chapter Title: BOOMER !!!
Player of the Game: Amelia Halley
The 8-2-2 Pioneers traveled to Amanda to take on the Aces who stood at
9-3-1. The Lady Pioneers had never lost to the Aces in their prior 3
meetings, outscoring the Aces 13-1 in those games. However, the Pioneers had
never faced such a strong Ace team as they would this night. The night began
with the rumble of thunder as the bus arrived at the PIT. The starting time
of 6pm was delayed again and again until he teams finally kicked off at
6:45. The pre game speech by the coaching staff was simple and short. It was
the team that could overcome the delay and focus first would win the game.
The coaches told the team that the game would be decided in the first
minutes of the game. The message was heard by the team and in less than a
minute the Pioneers had earned a corner kick and Senior Kendra Dalton netted
her 65 career goal off of an Amelia "Boomer" Halley kick. The Pioneers had
several near chances as the time progressed and finally at about the 20
minute mark a hard foul on Pioneer Tasha Harrington set up Boomer Halley
with a free kick from about 30 yards out on the right sideline ... As she
lined up the kick, she saw the Amanda Keeper was at the front post leaving
the back post undefended... When the kick was taken the Pioneer crowd gasped
as you could see it was going to be a tough one for the keeper to handle.
And when the ball hit the inside the back side netting the crowd roared with
delight. Pioneers 2 - Amanda Zero at the half !!! The second half saw the
Pioneers play a more defensive game holding back on runs making sure as not
to get caught out of position on counter attacks. The Pioneer defense bent
but would not break. Kayla Graves matched up against the Aces leading scorer
and was challenged by the coaching staff to deny her the nets. Challenge
offered ... Challenge accepted !!! Kayla had an outstanding match in denying
the Aces top scorer the nets. As the game progressed the rumble of thunder
faded, but the rumble of hard bodies banging onto each other was heard all
over the field. 3 yellow cards we given out, one to the Pioneers and two to
the Aces as things began to get a little chippy. The Pioneers though, rose
above, and maintained the shutout. Amelia "Boomer" Halley was awarded the
game ball. The Pioneers face off against Miami Trace on Wednesday.
Chapter Fourteen: Miami Trace
Chapter Title: Inner Fire !!!
Player of the Game: Tiffany Skaggs
The Pioneers took the field against Miami Trace and ZT Pioneer Kendra Dalton
scored in the opening minutes off of a corner kick. However, the goal seemed
to ignite the inner fire of Miami Trace and both sides battled to control
the game. Miami Trace had a couple chances early to tie the game but were
just of the mark. Late in the first half Kendra Dalton again found the nets
and the half ended 2-0. The second half again saw the teams struggling to
control the game. A free kick outside the penalty box of ZT was netted
by Miami Trace to bring the game to 2-1. This goal as the goal in the first
half seemed to ignite the inner fire of Zane Trace and in a span of 5
minutes Zane Trace netted 3 goals. Kendra Dalton had her second hat trick of
the season and had two assists and Cassie Clifton and Tiffany Skaggs each
added a goal. Tiff, for her work on the wing was awarded the game ball.
Kendra with three goals and two assists carried the team early (despite the
sore shoulder) and would not allow ZT to lose ...
Chapter Fifteen: Hamilton Township
Chapter Title: Goals Galore
Player of the Game: Entire Team
The Pioneers traveled to Hamilton Township and put 7 goals into the nets while only allowing one. The entire team was awarded the game ball for the effort.
Chapter Sixteen: Columbus School for Girls
Chapter Title: Sorry to see you go ...
Player of the Game: Seniors
So many tears ... The Seniors last regular season home game ended in a tie. The JV team played to a 0-4 loss. An effort worthy of recommendation was put on by the entire team. However, the seniors, playing in their last regular season game and playing on Senior Night showed why the team is 11-2-3 and how to be good leaders. If the underclassmen have learned anything this season it is lessons from our seniors on how to carry yourself on and off the field and the effort needed in practice and on the game field to be successful.
Chapter Seventeen: Greenfield McClain
Chapter Title: Ugly Win
Player of the game: Sam Ritchie
The first round of the tournament went well for the Pioneers. Kendra Dalton
netted 2 goals and Hannah Janes scored another as the Pioneers dominated the
Tigers of McClain. Sam Ritchie was awarded the game ball for her hard
and never tiring work on defense. The defense allowed the Tigers only 2
shots on goal the entire night will the Pioneers had 30.
Chapter Eighteen: Fairfield Union
Chapter Title: The End of the Dream ...
Player of the Game: Seniors
The entire team played their hearts out this night. But it was not to be. With several near chances the Pioneers could not finish as t he Falcon Defense held firm. Despite dominating the field of play and having about 75% of the play. It was the Falcons night as they slipped two goals into the Pioneer net off of set plays. The senior lead team of the Pioneers battled all night but came up short in the end. Seniors Jennifer McCoy, Hannah Janes, Ashley Arnold, Kendra Dalton and Kayla Graves, began the game on the field and ending the game on the field ... leaving nothing behind. It is with leaders like these that a team is successful. The Pioneers end the season at 12-3-3 with the senior leadership and hard work being the dominating reason for this success !!! We will miss our seniors !!! Good Luck in what ever you do !!!