January 21, 2025

Panthers soccer falls to Chariton, look for win against Kuemper

By JARED LARSON

Creston sophomore Zoe Ralston kicks to a teammate. Ralston is one of the captains for the 2022 Panthers. (JARED LARSON)

CHARITON — The girls soccer program is still hunting for their first win of the season after dropping a 3-1 decision to the Chariton Chargers on Tuesday.

“It was a very exciting game and the girls played great,” head coach Becca Ross said. “This was our first game back to full strength after a few injuries early this season and it was nice to see the whole team back in action. We saw some really good things from our offense and it felt like we are really starting to hit our stride.”

Bridget Hopkins was the goal scorer for the Panthers with a first half strike.

“We are super proud of her ability to step into a new role (forward) without any hesitation and we can’t wait to see how she does the rest of the season,” Ross said.

“Now that the girls have gotten a taste for scoring and what that feels like we know it’s just the beginning and next time it’s going to be a win,” Ross added.

Creston only allowed one goal in the second half, and a total of 20 shots the entire game.

“As always our defense did a great job locking it down, Olivia Burwell and Autumn Stafford stepped up big for us back there and prevented numerous opportunities for them to score from happening,” Ross said.

Tonight at 6 p.m., the Panthers take on Kuemper Catholic (1-5, 0-3 Hawkeye 10 Conference).

Since 2011, the Knights have had the upper hand against Creston, winning eight of the last nine match ups. Creston recorded their lone win on April 11, 2017, when the Panthers won 3-2.

“Tonight is going to be another tough match against a very strong team,” Ross said. “They are very aggressive which is something we have been stressing to our girls that we need to be more of. I have all the faith in our girls that we can compete with them and especially after Tuesday’s game they now know they can score and have a taste for more. Our defense is going to have to work hard and Keyana Peterson is going to have to make some big saves tonight be we have all the faith they can step up and do it.”