In the midst of a snowstorm in Rockford, the girls JV soccer team defeated the Rockford Rams in dominating fashion with a 5-1 victory. Sophomores Ashley Bowen and Addi Whitten led the way for the Rangers, scoring 2 goals apiece.

After starting slowly, the midfield did a great job of connecting passes in the middle of the park and added some much-needed fluidity to the game. Not only did the offense perform well, but the defense only let in a single goal, showing great potential for the rest of the season.

The first half was much slower than the rest of the game, with only 1 goal being scored in the half. Defensively, things looked good for both teams despite the tough conditions. Sophomore Eden Growney and freshman Katherine Hartman managed to take care of business, and the offense eventually got things going. Midway through the first half, Ashley buried her shot past the goalkeeper to give the Rangers the 1-0 lead. They held that lead for the rest of the half and went into the locker room leading 1-0.

In the second half, things picked up drastically for the offense. However, that wouldn’t happen until the Rangers received a wake-up call from the Rams, as Rockford scored off of a corner kick mere minutes into the half. The Rangers quickly made up for the mishap, as freshman Addi Tack curled one over the goalkeeper’s head ten minutes later to create a 2-1 lead.

After this goal, the girls began to really dominate the game and it only led to more scoring. Addi Whitten scored 2 goals within minutes of each other, beating her defender on the sideline both times and cutting in for the shot. Then, to finish off the game, Ashley recorded the brace, scoring her second of the game from six yards out to win the game 5-1.

After adding a bunch of new girls to the team and combining them with the returning JV players, the 5-1 win was a fantastic start to the season before the non-conference schedule really heats up. The Lady Rangers don’t get much of a break, as they will face rival East Kentwood on Friday before hosting Grand Rapids Christian on Monday in their first home game of the season.