Lady Knights hand Waterloo first loss of season
By Ray Popkess
One of the most heated rivalries in the Mississippi Valley Conference exists between the Triad Lady Knights and Waterloo Lady Bulldogs soccer teams. Before this year, the last time Triad lost to Waterloo in girls’ soccer was in the spring of 2023, also the last time Triad lost a conference matchup. This year, the Lady Bulldogs bested the Lady Knights in penalty kicks, a shootout where Waterloo “assembled the Avengers” in a game that took place on April 7 at Triad. Last week, Triad sought their revenge on the road and aimed to play spoiler to Waterloo’s perfect season.
Prior to their matchup on Thursday, April 30, Triad had won six games in a row and most recently came off a 1-0 win against Belleville West two days earlier. Waterloo boasted an unblemished, 14-0 record and knew a second win against Triad would likely lead to them being crowned the final MVC Girls’ Soccer Champions.
Triad defender Erica Boyce clears a ball at midfield using her knee. (Ray Popkess photo)
Waterloo used up most of the first half putting pressure on Triad in their defensive half of the field. The Lady Bulldogs had the majority of shots on goal and took the only corner kicks of the first 40 minutes.
Triad keeper Payton Hartmann kept her side of the scoreboard clean by making a few key saves in the first half and clearing out any potential scoring opportunities from Waterloo.
Shirley Wilder answered the bell for Triad in the 33rd minute of the first half when she received a through ball from Izzy Hancock inside the 16-yard box. Wilder used the outside of her right foot to push the ball past Waterloo’s keeper, tucking the first goal of the game into the side net.
From there, Triad took their 1-0 lead into the halftime break. Before the team huddled for their halftime speech, head coach Matt Bettlach brought together his defensive back line to discuss a few adjustments.
Waterloo turned up the intensity in the second half, making the game slightly more physical due to the implications of a potential loss.
A few minutes into the final half, Triad drew a foul at the top of Waterloo’s 16-yard box. The center referee deemed the foul occurred outside the box, taking away the danger of a penalty shot, but not entirely taking the fouling defender off the hook. Triad’s London Looby was given the opportunity for a free kick in one of the most favorable spots on the pitch for a striker. She blasted a shot below the feet of the leaping defender wall and into the back of the net, giving Triad a 2-0 lead.
London Looby leaps into the air after netting her free kick to put Triad up 2-0. Teammates Kamryn Bohnenstiehl (#20) and Averi Moore (#11) were the first to greet her after the decisive moment. (Ray Popkess photo)
Not much time later, Lilly Zobrist found a loose ball near Waterloo’s goal line and guided it in with her foot. Her momentum sent her crashing into the back of the net, but she was all smiles as her teammates pulled her out of the mesh with a 3-0 lead.
Triad’s defense and strong goalkeeping kept Waterloo off the scoreboard in the second half as well, giving Hartmann her seventh solo clean sheet of the season. With her additional three shared shutouts, she holds the most clean sheets in the conference and boasts the lowest goals against average in the MVC at a 0.36 per game rate among starting keepers.
With Looby’s free kick goal, she now has the most in the MVC with 13 goals scored this season and also has four assists from her forward position.
Next up for the Lady Knights is a matchup at Civic Memorial on Tuesday, May 5 followed by a contest with Jersey at home on Thursday, May 7, their final conference matchup of the season with a 5:00 p.m. scheduled kickoff.
