The Woodlands utilized its direct style to neutralize Belton’s speed, and the Lady Highlanders took command early and never looked back en route to a 4-1 victory Tuesday night in a Class 5A Region II girls soccer quarterfinal at Hohlt Park.
The loss marked the third straight year the Lady Tigers (25-3) were eliminated in the regional quarterfinals, where each time they struggled against their opponent’s high-pressure style.
“(The Woodlands) plays a style that we don’t see until we get here,” said Belton coach Barry Elkins, whose 2006 squad also was eliminated by The Woodlands. “This happens every year, and it’s hard to adjust in mid-playoffs.
“But we’re going to keep pushing for a regional tournament berth, even if we have to say to heck with a district title and 20-win seasons from now on. We have to learn to play with big-city teams.”
The Lady Highlanders (23-1-2), who advanced to this weekend’s Region II tournament, constantly looked to attack and got to almost every long ball Belton sent in during the first half.
“We weren’t the Lady Tigers we’ve been all year,” senior forward Erica Michaud said through tears. “We weren’t tenacious and we didn’t play with confidence.”
Belton went up early when Kali Hellinghausen headed in Michelle Hagen’s free kick only 5 minutes in, but the rest of the first half belonged to The Woodlands.
Kylie Cook netted the equalizer 2 minutes later on a penalty kick, and Molly Missimer’s 25-yard shot at the 12:52 mark squeezed between the top post and the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Alyssa Conti - playing in place of regular starting keeper Kelsi Darr, who was injured in an off-field accident Monday evening.
Teresa Sorrentino made it 3-1 after Belton failed to clear the ball with 2:45 left before intermission, capping a first half in which the Lady Highlanders took nine shots to the Lady Tigers’ two.
“Mentally the girls were ready to go,” Elkins said. “But I think the things might have moved faster than we expected. The Woodlands plays faster than anybody we’ve played, including Allen and Klein.”
Senior defender Kacy Green took over at keeper in the second half, when the Lady Tigers diverted some pressure off their defense by producing some attacks of their own. Belton tallied seven second-half shots to The Woodlands’ five but couldn’t find the back of the net.
The final goal came 8 minutes after intermission. A trio of Belton defenders was caught flat-footed on another long pass, and Olivia Kintigh sped down the right sideline before centering a pass that was headed in by Natalie Kintigh, Olivia’s sister.
Belton’s best chance of the second half came at the 22-minute mark, but Jourdan Brown’s pass toward the goal mouth was booted over the crossbar by Lady Tiger midfielder Darla Gregory.
“We didn’t come out and play,” somber Belton senior midfielder Tori Seiler said. “I’ll still feel proud of the things that we did accomplish, but we didn’t play like we’re capable of tonight."
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
