Knoxville beats the buzzer

With the teams knotted at 4-4 and seemingly headed toward overtime, Knoxville sophomore Amber VanderVeer suddenly broke past two Creston defenders in the 77th minute and blasted a shot over Creston goalkeeper Leah Schuler to the top shelf of the net.

From there the Knoxville defense held off Creston’s desperate attempts to set up a scoring opportunity and came away with a 5-4 victory.

In the 53rd minute Creston had held a 4-3 lead thanks to a direct kick goal by Grace Root.

Having scored twice earlier in the match, Root finished with her first career hat trick in the loss.

When one of Root’s shots hit the goal post in the first half, freshman Lexi Rounds was ready in position to knock in the ricochet shot for her second goal of the season.

Root, a sophomore, now has seven goals.

But, it wasn’t quite enough as the Panthers fell to 1-8 for the season, with four of those defeats by one goal. Knoxville improved to 4-5.

Knoxville owns a pair of 10-0 victories over Centerville this season, but otherwise had scored only four goals this season.

Creston coach Kim Lauffer said it was another missed opportunity, as her team rallied from a 3-2 halftime deficit to score the first two goals of the second half.

“There were positives for us and the girls worked hard,” Lauffer said. “But, this leaves a bitter taste. We had two games this week that we were capable of winning.”

Chariton took a 4-1 decision Tuesday on the Panthers’ field.

Winning goal

VanderVeer raced to a one-on-one situation with Schuler in the goal for the game-winning shot after the teams had battled for 78 minutes on even terms.

“It’s just kind of instinct,” the Knoxville sophomore said. “There’s a time when you know there’s going to be an open spot between them to run through to get a goal.”

“We had some possession breakdowns for awhile in the second half, but in the end I thought possession made the difference,” Knoxville coach Charley Fisher said. “We took care of the ball and stopped giving it away as much. We were getting it through to our forwards.”

Lauffer agreed with Fisher that Creston’s inability to control possessions in the final 25 minutes proved to be its downfall.

“Our games are won and lost in the midfield,” Lauffer said. “We were getting a little tired and thinking maybe somebody else would be there to get the ball for us. If at any point you give up and let them win the ball, this is what can happen.”

Root sparked the Panther offense, Lauffer said.

“We like her at midfield, but up front she creates offense and she’s a player who can finish if we get the ball to her,” Lauffer said. “Lexi was there to pick up the trash for our other goal. That’s the second time she’s been in position for one like that.”

The Panthers played without two key defenders — freshman Kara Kinsella with a strained abdominal muscle and sophomore Bre Ross with a strained hamstring.

Creston Invitational

Creston stays home Saturday for the annual boys and girls tournament played at both the west soccer field near the bus barn and at Panther Field (football field).

The Panther girls open at 9 a.m. against Boone at Panther Field, while Centerville faces Underwood at the west field. The consolation and championship games are at 12:30 p.m. with the title match at the soccer field. Senior day activities are scheduled at 2 p.m. prior to the final round of the boys tournament.

The Creston boys open at 10:45 a.m. on the west field against Clarinda Academy, while Centerville and Riverside square off at Panther Field. The consolation and championship matches are scheduled at 2:15 p.m.

Knoxville 5, Creston 4

Creston (4) — Grace Root, 10:39; Lexi Rounds (Root assist), 26:00; Root, 40:43; Root, 53:37. Shots (on goal) — 26 (23 on goal). Individual shots (on goal)— Root 18 (18), Kalan Bloodgood 4 (3), Karlmen Chuong 3 (1), Rounds 1 (1). Keeper saves — Leah Schuler 12.

Knoxville (5) — Emma DeJoode, 4:30; DeJoode, 13:26; Tori Dye, 29:59; Dye, 60:11; Amber VanderVeer, 77:24. Assists — A. VanderVeer 3, Dye 1, DeJoode 1, Kayla Moats 1. Shots (on goal) — 12 (6). Saves — Taylor Karns 12.