Clarion River Valley Strikers U12 Girls Chalk up Second Consecutive Shutout (10/12/15)

The Clarion River Valley Strikers U12 Girls squad put on another show Sunday October 11th rivaled only by the colorful sunbathed background of fall leaves at the Clarion County Park. Participating in the last of 4 home Strikers games being played Sunday, the U12 Girls shut out an experienced Shenango Valley team 3-0. This was their second win over Shanango Valley this season.

(Photo by Matt Lerch) Fall 2015 CRVS Girls U-12 Team

The game started with forward Joyce Kim advancing the ball through traffic with the assistance of left midfielder Liv Weckerly with two shots on goal. Center midfielder Korrin Burns and right midfielder Reagan Pack made combinations that were admirable as well. Clarion’s defense was once again stellar with Shawna Pack in the center flanked by Bailey Snowberger and Anna Gribik. Goaltender Evelyn Lerch made 6 stops to keep the first half scoreless 0-0.

As the second half started, the game was clearly anyone’s for the taking. With the ball primarily in the Clarion end during the first half, the normal adjustment was made with Shawna Pack taking over goaltending duties and Lerch moved up to forward with Reagan Pack switching to left midfielder, Burns anchoring the middle and Parker Boyden playing right midfielder. Riley Burford moved into role of right defender to bolster the goalie protection. Goalie Shawna Pack made a stop and cleared the ball over half field and Lerch made the Shenango defense pay for the miscue of not securing the ball with a shot to top right shelf. The score was 1-0 not for long when Lerch received a cross pass from Reagan Pack to make it 2-0.

They say that offense sells the tickets but defense wins the games. The Clarion defense once again foiled attempt after attempt by Shenango Valley to penetrate the Clarion side, but Burford, Snowberger and Gribik allowed only 4 shots on goa,l in the second half. With a minute left in the game, Burns shot a ball wide to add an insurance goal making it 3-0. The whistle blew and the girls realized that they were now 3-1-1, with only 3 games left in the season.

The U12 Girls will have a “bye” weekend October 18th, with a double header scheduled for the 25th at home, against two very good teams, Meadville and Kizua.

(Thanks to Matt Lerch for this article and photo. Good Going CRVS!!!!)