Pair of Bobcats score first goals in varsity action
A second-half scoring flurry propelled Marshalltown girls soccer to a 8-0 rout of Des Moines Hoover at Leonard Cole Field on Tuesday.
The Bobcats improved to 4-2 overall with six goals in the second half, including two each for Claire Bonzer and Jezell Ruiz.
It was the first varsity goals for Ruiz, a sophomore, and junior defender Jorja Janssen dribbled in a strike for her first varsity goal as well.
“It’s a huge thing for the girls’ confidence,” MHS head coach Stacy Galema said. “They believe in each other and when they see a teammate do it, they want to do it too. And then like Itzabella [Meraz] didn’t score but she had some great assists tonight to be able to play the ball. They’re stepping up into some big minutes and it’s just about finding the opportunities for them and make sure they take advantage.”
It was just 2-0 at halftime after goals from seniors Yuri Ramirez and McKenna Coleman, the latter of whom increased her team-leading goal total to seven for the year so far.
“I think in the first half we were just playing Hoover’s style instead of our own,” Ramirez said. “That second half showed more of what our practices are like – we have a lot of great skills on the team but we just have to play at our level for when there are teams that are coming at us stronger.”
Marshalltown dominated possession and averaged six shots on net for every one Hoover mustered on Tuesday, but Galema said it was a matter of field awareness.
“We’re just trying to build confidence with the ball at our feet,” Galema said. “We talked at halftime that we need to play a little bit quicker, you can’t just hold on to the ball and try to beat so many players, it’s a big field and you want to use all of it. In the second half we did a much better job of spreading them out and keep the ball moving so it wasn’t just stuck on one side or the other.”
Ramirez sent in multiple corner kicks on Tuesday, including one that deflected off Stefani Gutierrez in front of the goal to start the second-half scoring for the Bobcats.
“She’s always going 100 percent,” Galema said, “and she’s done a great job with her corners of giving us an opportunity to score, but you always know you’re going to get a hard ball from Yuri, she won’t play it lightly, and that’s the momentum and energy that we need to continue moving forward.”
Next up for the Bobcats is a big one on Friday at Ames (3-2-1), a series the Little Cyclones have dominated in recent years aside from a close call last year where Ames snuck past the Bobcats, 3-2
Ramirez hopes tough losses against quality teams like ADM and Roosevelt so far this season will prepare the Bobcats for Friday’s showdown.
“We always have to expect the best from every team we play, and not every team plays the same,” Ramirez said. “We have to be prepared to play and ready to show that we have the passion. We can’t back down from teams.”
