Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – With a single year of playing experience Courtney Kessler is still new to the sport of soccer let alone the intricacies of the sports’ overtime procedures.

So it certainly seems reasonable to cut Kessler some slack for not knowing the specifics of a penalty kick shootout

“I’ve never done that before and I thought I won after the first one,” Kessler explained. “I didn’t know how many we were going to do.”

Regina didn’t secure a win with the first Kessler penalty kick stop but the Regina junior keeper eventually did enough to get the Regals a victory.

Grace Gaarde had two goals in regulation and Kessler stopped four shots in the shootout as Regina (1-1) outlasted Solon 3-2 (2-1) in a penalty kick shootout on Thursday on a frigid evening at Spartan Stadium.

“She has improved so much,” Gaarde said of Kessler said. “Last year was her very first year ever playing soccer let alone playing goalie so she has improved so much. Especially with pks where the pressure is so high she is smart, she thinks about it and she does really well.”

Solon (1-1) tied the score at 2-2 when junior standout Morgan Link snuck a penalty kick past Kessler with 12:39 left in regulation.

After 20 minutes of scoreless overtime action Kessler came up big in the shootout.

She came up with saves on the first three Solon attempts and successful attempts from Grace Gaarde and sophomore Lydia Pritchard proved to be enough as Kessler stopped four of five Spartan attempts.

“Her growth from last year to this year has been incredible,” Regina coach Ann Larew said of Kessler. “She came out last year just an athletic girl and so skilled and did such a good job last year but already the first day she showed up for practice this year I could tell she was a different person. She is so much more confident and this was just incredible. Her poise and her control playing out there I could not be more proud of her.”

Solon struck first when freshman Silvie Hendricks headed in a nicely placed corner from Link less than seven minutes into the match.

Regina didn’t need long to answer as Gaarde scored following a penalty in the box just 62 seconds later.

“It was really important to get that goal back just because the first parts of the game are the most important,” Gaarde said. “They set the tone and we just had to come back and reset it.”

Gaarde gave Regina it’s first lead when she weaved through traffic in the box and found the net with 23:31 left.

Solon answered on Link’s penalty kick with 12:39 left, her fifth goal of the season in two games.

Neither team could mount much of an attack the over the final 12 minutes of regulation or either of the two 10-minute overtime sessions on a night with temperatures in the low 30s and steady wind.

“It was definitely a lot of mental toughness,” Gaarde said. “When you are cold and tired you have to keep going no matter what and playing hard for your team.
Eventually it was Kessler that came up big in the shootout.

“We do pks at the end of every practice and I just used that experience and coaching to help me today,” Kessler said. “I have confidence in myself and my teammates behind me.”

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