East Kentwood Soccer: EK in the News: 2008 Women - East Kentwood finishes strong in win at FHN
2008 Women - East Kentwood finishes strong in win at FHNThursday, March 27 2008 The Grand Rapids Press
For approximately 50 minutes Wednesday night, East Kentwood soccer coach John Conlon did not like what he saw. In the final 30 minutes, however, his Falcons scored three times on their way to a 5-1 victory at Forest Hills Northern.
The game was the first of the season for both teams.
"I am happy with our first day out," Conlon said. "We are a young team, so I am happy with what I saw."
In the first half, Conlon saw his all-state forward Morgan Britt, who is headed to Central Michigan next year, use her left foot to poke in the game's first goal, less than 11 minutes after the opening kickoff. He saw his Falcons take a 2-0 lead on a goal by senior Kellie Irwin in the 29th minute, but he also saw the Huskies cut that lead in half when FHN senior captain Katelin Hillier banged in a penalty shot with less than four minutes remaining in the first half.
In the first 10 minutes of the second half, Conlon saw the teams knock the ball back and forth without scoring.
"It was ugly for about 50 minutes," Conlon said. "For the first 50 minutes it looked more like ping-pong. After that, we started to settle down and we played better."
After those first 50 minutes, junior forward Brittany Dulyea scored a pair of goals, the first following a long crossing pass from Britt, who ended the scoring with her second goal of the game, with 4:14 left to play.
"Morgan Britt is one of the best people I have ever coached," Conlon said. "She is a great player too, but a great person. Brittany Dulyea did a fabulous job too. Northern is a better team than the result showed, but once we capitalized on that third goal, the game changed."
The Falcons outshot the Huskies 7-6.
"We did not play our normal style in the first half," Forest Hills Northern coach Jamie Bogart said. "We came out firing in the second half, though. We talked to the girls at halftime and they did everything we asked of them in the second half. We just couldn't get it in the net."
Sophomore Casey Greene started in goal for East Kentwood and sophomore Audra Racette played in goal for the Falcons in the second half. Senior Jamie Forte played in goal for Forest Hills Northern.
"We've got to play hard right away," Bogart said. "The way our girls responded in the second half is the biggest positive of this game for us. We were not in our normal game plan, but our level of play rose in the second half. E.K. is a good team. They're a tough team. They're bigger than us and faster and deeper and more experienced."
East Kentwood is scheduled to host Portage Central on Thursday night, while Forest Hills Northern is scheduled to host Cedar Springs next Wednesday.
"Portage Central is arguably the best team on this side of the state, next to Unity Christian and Forest Hills Central," Conlon said. "We have a young team, so anything can happen."