A ‘hardcore, go get ’em’ victory

From the stands, a 2-0 halftime lead looks pretty solid.

Not so from the sidelines, Jackie Danzig maintains.

“It’s the most dangerous lead,” the Spartan junior goalkeeper said. “The winners are thinking, ‘oh, it’s in the bag,’ and the losers are thinking, ‘we’re still in this.’

“It’s a race to goal number three, that’s what we always say.”

Thursday against Holy Names, Bainbridge won the race to three – and to four and five. Beneath a light rain on the Memorial Stadium turf, the Spartans parlayed a two-goal halftime advantage into a 5-0 blanking of the visiting Cougars.

Five different girls scored and five assisted for the Spartans, now 2-1-1 overall on the young season. The Spartans controlled the midfield throughout the contest, and solid defensive play helped Danzig and Callie Tift combine to keep the Spartan goal pure.

Defender Lindsay Lund entered the scorebook in the 24th minute, catching the Holy Names keeper off the line and lofting in a shot from 35 yards out after a pass from Alana MacWhorter.

Bainbridge solidified the lead just before the half after a throw-in deep in Names territory. Junior Allie Picah crossed into the box from the right endline, and a waiting Adrienne Montoya spun toward the goal and scooted the ball in with the left foot.

Names failed to capitalize on its few chances, including a long free kick from the left side that drifted unmet through the Spartan 18-yard box.

Kelsey Devereaux notched the prettiest goal of the match about 10 minutes into the second half, after Spartan offensive pressure reaped a corner kick from the left side. Taryn Christoffersen bent a golden banana into the box, meeting the soaring noggin of Devereaux in flight, and the junior forward hammered the ball into the back of the net.

Six minutes later, senior midfield Tucker Huget again caught the Names keeper off the line and used a deft outstep to chip in from 20 yards away.

Sophomore Zena Hemmen rounded out the scoring in the 74th minute, collecting a ball from Ashley Waplinger in the center of the field, running 15 yards unimpeded and finding the left corner past a dispirited Names goalie.

Coach Mark Grindrod cited the strong midfield play of captain Jenine Adam, Callan Cobb and Molly Oshin for the Spartans’ game-long control of play.

The ease of victory surprised the players, given that Names came into the contest high off a scoreless draw with defending state 3A champions Lakeside just two days earlier. Danzig credited the Spartans’ “hardcore, go get ’em” play from the opening whistle.

“We owe a lot to how we went into it mentally, respecting our opponents,” she said.

Due to a scheduling change, Bainbridge will host Chief Sealth for a 5:30 p.m. match Tuesday. The contest had been scheduled as a road event.

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