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Cotter junior Ava Killian corrals the ball during a one-goal, one-assist performance Tuesday in a 3-0 win over La Crescent-Hokah.
Cotter senior Ella Leaf keeps her eye on the ball during a run in the Ramblers' 3-0 Tuesday win over La Crescent-Hokah.
La Crescent-Hokah senior Olivia Meyer chases down the ball during the Lancers' 3-0 home loss to Cotter on Tuesday.
Sophomore Myla Baudek stretches to make a stop in La Crescent-Hokah's Tuesday loss to Cotter.
LA CRESCENT — It is no secret that Cotter’s girls soccer team had an uphill climb early in the season.
After a loaded senior class graduated, including a pair of former Ramblers now playing at the Division II level, the team started off with a 5-2 record and a pair of losses early in Three Rivers Conference play.
However, Cotter always had its eyes on the postseason, and now that the playoffs are less than a week away the team is firing on all cylinders with seven wins in a row, including a 3-0 victory over La Crescent-Hokah on Tuesday.
“You can win every game in the regular season and not perform in the playoffs if you’re not growing as you go. I think a big piece of our season was trying to figure out positionally what we do best, and really buying into the whole system,” head coach Marie Barrientos said.
The win over the Lancers served as a microcosm of the season as a whole, with Cotter starting slow and picking up steam as time went on.
Early on, the Ramblers (12-2, 8-2) had to figure out how to deal with the La Crescent-Hokah offense, which uses speed and long passes to try to blow by the defensive back line.
Cotter often thrives with their aggressive defenders creating turnovers and starting a forward rush the opposite way, but they were a bit cautious at first as they tried to not get burned.
As a result neither team was able to get on the board in the first half, though both teams had a couple near-miss chances.
Barrientos shifted her lineup at halftime, including pushing junior Ava Killian from her normal midfield position up to a forward spot in an attempt to spark the Ramblers’ offense. Sure enough, the plan worked.
“We switched up a few positions to try to make something happen, and I thought our ball work and our vision was better in the second half,” Barrientos said.
Freshman Autumn Suffrins started the scoring in the 52nd minute, hitting a deep shot off an assist by sophomore Izzie Biesanz for a 1-0 lead.
Killian picked up an assist on the second goal, passing to Cotter’s leading scorer, senior Allyssa Williams, who picked up the team’s second deep goal of the day in the 65th minute.
It was Killian again on the Ramblers third goal of the game, taking a pass from Suffrins and slicing through the Lancers’ defense before firing off a shot into the back of the net.
Killian is a skilled soccer player, earning all-state second-team honors as a sophomore last year, but also a key contributor in the post for the Ramblers basketball team, and that toughness translates from the hardwood to the pitch.
“She went out and hustled up top, and she brings a size and a strength to the game up there, she can run through just about anything,” Barrientos said.
Although the Ramblers finished the season strong, their pair of early losses left them at 8-2 and in second place in the Three Rivers Conference standings, snapping their streak of four consecutive conference crowns as 8-1-1 St. Charles/Lewiston-Altura won the first girls soccer TRC title in program history.
Nonetheless, Cotter will begin next week’s playoff push looking to continue a different streak by winning the Section 1A title for the third year in a row.
After playing in a trio of state games in last year’s third-place tie finish, the returning Ramblers have a bit of extra knowledge and confidence that Barrientos believes will make this year’s playoff run a bit easier.
“Getting as far as we did last year, I think it takes the unknown out of it. You know what you’re shooting for and what to expect next,” Barrientos said.
Andrew Tucker can be reached at andrew.tucker@lee.net or via Twitter @andrewjtucker16
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Cotter junior Ava Killian corrals the ball during a one-goal, one-assist performance Tuesday in a 3-0 win over La Crescent-Hokah.
Cotter senior Ella Leaf keeps her eye on the ball during a run in the Ramblers' 3-0 Tuesday win over La Crescent-Hokah.
La Crescent-Hokah senior Olivia Meyer chases down the ball during the Lancers' 3-0 home loss to Cotter on Tuesday.
Sophomore Myla Baudek stretches to make a stop in La Crescent-Hokah's Tuesday loss to Cotter.
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