Girls soccer: Chargers blank Redettes in regional opener
· Yahoo Sports
CENTERVILLE — It seemed like a long season would be coming to a quick end just over two weeks ago for the Chariton girls soccer team.
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The Chargers had lost eight of their 10 matches, scoring just three goals and were looking at the real possibility of finishing out a winless season on the opening night of postseason play. Two weeks later, Chariton is on a roll and one step closer than many would have thought to making it to the Class 1A Girls State Soccer Tournament.
Remah Wagner bounced in a goal off the post in the final eight minutes of the first half, then added a second goal in the final eight minutes of the second half, lifting the Chargers to a 2-0 win over South Central Conference rival Centerville on Monday night in the Class 1A, Region 5 tournament. Chariton, now 3-8-2 on the season, will head to fifth-ranked Des Moines Christian on Thursday for the regional quarterfinals carrying a three-match winning streak into the contest.
"We've been working for this and our hard work is paying off," Wagner said. "We were just communicating earlier this season and our passes just were not connecting. We've been working on it throughout the season. We've really just come together as a team and are finishing it off strong.
"We're going to give it our best and try our hardest on Thursday. We'll play as a team and have fun no matter what the outcome ends up being."
Centerville ends the season with a record of 2-14, including a 2-1 victory over the Chargers back on Apr. 28. Ava Pfannebecker, one of two seniors on the young Redette squad, finished with 16 saves bringing her total for the season to 190 saves coming out of the match for the final time at Paul Johnson Field in her 1,000th minute played this season.
"I knew some of some of their strengths and some of their weaknesses having played them three times this season," Pfannebecker said of Chariton. "I knew the people who were good shooters and I knew who would be good at finding opening spaces. I also couldn't have done it without my teammates.
"I had to make 40 saves the first time we played them. To go down from making just 16 saves the third time is a big difference. Thanks to my teammates, I didn't have to face as many shots."