Panthers pick up first win of season

     Cassidy Covington’s penalty shot during a shootout, and a subsequent save by Cassie Gillmore, gave the Monticello High School girls soccer team its first win of the season, officially a 3-2 shootout win over Northeast of Goose Lake at the Northeast Tournament April 29.

     “It was a very exciting match, and the girls worked extremely hard,” Monticello coach Bruce Feuling said. “I was glad to see them get this win.”

     The Panthers lost to West Liberty in their final game of the tournament by a score of 3-1, but came out of the tournament 1-1.

     In the first match, Northeast scored first on a cold, windy day, but Monticello answered on a breakaway goal by McKenna Bell. The teams were tied 1-1 at halftime.

     Covington then scored five minutes into the second half, on a shot from in front of the goal, to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead. This time Northeast came back, tying the match with six minutes left in regulation time.

     Neither team scored through two overtime periods, sending the match to a shootout. Each team scored once among the first five shooters, with Skylar Postel getting her first career goal for Monticello and Panther goalkeeper Gillmore making four saves.

     In the second round of the shootout, Covington scored her goal, and Gillmore’s save sealed the win for the Panthers.

     Against West Liberty, as rain began to fall, the Panthers scored first on a penalty kick by Covington with nine minutes left in the first half. The Comets tied the match two minutes before halftime, then scored twice in the final 10 minutes to pick up the win.

     “Our girls played very hard and never gave up,” Feuling said. “We appreciated the parents who came out in those miserable conditions to support us.”