Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

TIFFIN – With a strong and steady breeze blowing at Clipper Stadium the wind figured to be a key factor in the WAMAC soccer match between Mount Vernon and Clear Creek Amana.

The wind played a role on Friday evening it just didn’t have as much of an impact as confidence, familiarity of discipline.

Lena Evans scored the game winning goal less than three minutes into overtime to lift Class 2A No. 15 Clear Creek Amana to a 2-1 win over Mount Vernon in a WAMAC cross-divisional showdown.

The game-winning goal by Evans was her team-high eighth of the season and came with Clear Creek Amana operating into the strong breezing that was blowing for the entirety of the match.

“I think it really came down to the discipline of the players,” Clear Creek Amana coach Rachel Carney said. “In the first half we were disciplined, we played to feet and we were successful going this direction. When we set up for overtime we knew we had to go the same direction to get us in that mindset the girls took advantage.”

Clear Creek Amana (5-1) opened the match operating into the teeth of the wind and struck first on a goal by senior Eva Plathe.

Mount Vernon (4-4) scored on a first-half penalty kick to even the match at 1-1.

With the wind at its back in the second half Clear Creek Amana appeared to have the advantage but struggled to gain any offensive traction.

So, when the game went to overtime and the Clippers won the toss Carney instructed senior Halle Bormann to select the option of going into the wind.

“If you are playing to feet and you are playing on the ground the ball does the work,” Carney explained. “We were successful with that in the first half and we wanted to get them in that same mindset.”

It took a little more than two minutes for that decision to pay dividends.

The idea of playing on a more familiar side of the field along with the confidence of the first half goal gave the Clippers a boost.

“We always practice on this side of the field so I think we are more comfortable down here,” Plathe said. “We scored in the first half on this end so that gave us confidence.”

Bormann found Plathe with a through ball on the left side of the box and the senior slipped a shot that appeared to be sailing just wide of the right post.

Evans ran onto the ball and knocked it into the net for the game winner.

“Lena does such a good job of following everything,” Plathe said. “She is always running, she is always there to finish it.”

Evans started the play with a feed to Bormann and finished it off with the goal.

“I saw Halle in the middle and she found Eva right away and had a great shot,” Evans said. “Coach always tells us to follow up on every shot and I found the ball.”

Clear Creek Amana outscored opponents 28-0 during a 4-0 start to the season before a 1-0 loss to Vinton-Shellsburg on Tuesday.

The Clippers quickly got back on track on Friday with its third win in four matches against WAMAC opponents.

“After the Vinton game you could tell that everyone was ready to play another game,” Plathe said. “We wanted to prove what we were as a team.”

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