While Lincoln Southwest is known for its high scoring offense, it was its defensive effort that helped them win the Heartland Athletic Conference Championship. They defeated the Lincoln East Spartans 3-0 on Friday morning.
“Today felt really good because the evidence was there that we improved,” Southwest head coach Thomas Nettleton said. “Our girls care so deeply about each other, and they care deeply about improvement,” Nettleton said. “I was especially happy about our defensive effort and how we defended as a team.”
Nettleton said he is impressed with East’s attack, so shutting them out was quite a team accomplishment.
“East can beat anyone 5-0, especially if they get on the attack early in the game and I thought we did a great job of not letting that happen,” Nettleton said.
At halftime the game was tied 0-0.
“At halftime we talked about turning our dial up and theirs down and that is exactly what we did,” Nettleton said. “The volume coming from the locker room showed that they had no doubt something good was going to happen early in the second half.”
Nettleton was exactly right as the first goal for the Silverhawk’s came three minutes into the second half. Senior, Mallory Arehart shot the ball from 18 yards out, the ball soaring past Spartan’s goalkeeper to make it 1-0.
“I’ve been staying after practice and practicing that exact shot so I knew I could make it,” Arehart said. “I saw the goalie wasn’t in position and the corner was open, so I had a shot at it.”
The second goal was scored by sophomore Ansley Throener with 27 minutes remaining in the second half. The goal was assisted by senior, Kamdyn O’Bryant who passed the ball across the middle of the box where Throener was able to tap it in.
“Our buddy system that we have been working on in practice is what created that goal,” Throener said. “She played the perfect ball, and I was able to find the back of the net.”
The third goal came with just under two minutes remaining in the game from junior, Payton Held. Held took on three Spartan defenders and was able to get the shot off for the goal.
But it wasn’t just the Silverhawk offense that helped win the game, its defense stepped up tremendously. The Spartan team has over 40 goals on the season and scored two goals against Southwest in their first meeting met on April 3, a game Southwest won 3-2 in overtime.
“We knew we had to be organized defensively by being smart and staying behind the ball to not allow goals like we did last time against them,” senior Thea Martin said. “We trusted each other and if one stepped one person dropped and we kept communicating the entire time.”
This was the Silverhawks’ fifth straight shutout and third win in a row at home.
“The team is connected and willing to give the extra push for each other,” Nettleton said. “East is a great team and to be able to stop them from scoring took great effort from the team.”
Southwest will host Lincoln North Star at 6 p.m. on Monday, while East travels to face No. 5 Kearney at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.
Ann Carlson is currently a freshman at University of Nebraska Lincoln studying Sports Media and Broadcasting.