Late Voss goal earns Knights a tie vs. Timothy Christian
By Gary Larsen

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Sometimes, in the heat of snatching a tie from the jaws of defeat, you’re not exactly sure how you did it.

“All I know is I got a ball in the middle and I took a quick touch to my right, and hit it with my right foot,” Chicago Christian senior Katie Voss said. “It went high, the goalie was too far out, and she couldn’t get back in time.  It was just in the moment and knew I had to hit it.”

Voss’ goal from 25 yards out came in the waning minutes of Tuesday’s game between the visiting Knights and Timothy Christian, with her side trailing 2-1. After watching the host Trojans get both of their goals on penalty kicks due to hand-ball calls in the box, Knights coach Trevor Schans was happy with the result.

“It’s obviously better than losing and I felt like the way the play went, we deserved at least a tie,” Knights coach Trevor Schans said. “We lost 1-0 to Iliana (Christian) on a PK, too, so that was our third PK given up in a row.”

The Knights (1-1-1) took a 1-0 lead thanks to philosophy that senior Carolyn Richards has embraced in netting five goals through three games this season, when she looked up from 35 yards out with a ball at her feet and made a decision.

“I try to look for shots as much as possible, and try to encourage my teammates to look for shots, just because of goals like that one,” Richards said. “I don’t know if the wind was behind it, but I just put a good hit on it.”

Freshman Breanna Kooiman fed Richards, whose high-arching bomb eventually floated under the crossbar to give the Knights a 1-0 lead in the game’s 13th minute.

“Carolyn wants to shoot. She wants to get forward,” Schans said. “We can always count on her to test the keeper. I’ve told the girls in the last couple games to shoot early. Put it on frame and see what happens.”

Richards’ goal gave her side a lead that lasted for three minutes. Timothy Christian’s Michelle Ditchfield tied the game 1-1 at 16 minutes with the first of her two PK conversions, and her second at 36 minutes gave the host Trojans a 2-1 halftime lead.

Timothy Christian had a steady presence on the Knights’ half of the midfield stripe throughout the second half, but a Lauren Kuipers-led back line never buckled. The senior central defender shined throughout in guiding the Knights’ girls in back, who kept the Trojans to long-range shots throughout.

“We did a pretty good job defensively. Lauren Kuipers in back is such a strong player,” Schans said. “She cleans everything up. She reads the game well and she doesn’t have a problem coming forward into challenges. She played really well today.”

Defensive stopper Voss also helped key the effort in back, and Kuipers had good words ready for back-line mates Jasmine Kruzel and Carissa Engelsman for their roles in helping neutralize the dangerous Ditchfield throughout the contest.

“I’m really proud of both my outside defenders,” Kuipers said. “(Ditchfield) could shoot and get it to the corners, but our outside defenders were able to keep their girls in front of them and not let them get around them. I’m really happy with the way we’re playing. We’re connecting to feet and controlling things under pressure.”

With the Trojans able to keep the ball on the Knights’ half for much of the second half, Chicago Christian’s counterattack provided three dramatic moments. Richards sent a ball ahead from midfield at 45 minutes that found freshman Emily Lemmenes making her run.

TC’s goalkeeper stuffed a shot off of Lemmenes’ foot at the 18, and the Knights’ Megan Wise sent a follow up shot wide from distance. Richards sprang Lemmenes again with a through-ball from midfield at 59 minutes but the freshman’s shot  was saved.

But the chances were there.

“With the way the game worked, with them having a little bit more possession, (the counterattack) opened up for us,” Schans said. “And we’ve talked about how we can’t send these straight balls into these straight runs. It has to be a diagonal run or a diagonal ball so we worked on opening up our runs as forwards the other day, so it was nice to see.”

In the second half, Schans moved a forward back to midfield in order to try to create more possession, and moved Richards up top as his lone striker. The move paid off when Pausma sent a ball ahead from midfield late in the contest.

Richards raced onto it and met a sliding TC goalkeeper at the 18. The ball stayed on the Trojans end and found its way to the feet of Voss, who took a touch and let fly with six minutes left in the game.

“One thing we practice a lot of is quick combinations  in the middle and then long balls to the forwards,” Richards said. “We were able to connect, we just weren’t able to capitalize until Katie Voss got a hold of one.”

“Katie’s position this year has been a central defensive position but I wanted to get her up in the midfield, too,” Schans said. “We needed to be more offensive. “

Voss was happy to help her team and she’s been pleased with what she’s seen from a team with four freshmen and five sophomores on its roster.

“We have a lot of potential and the girls are working hard,” Voss said. “We can improve and we’re getting there. We’re focusing on possession and building that up, and working as a team up the field. We’re thinking through the ball and the movement a little more each game, so that’s good to see.”