Mexico girls fall short in Hotop Classic; lose 2-1 to Chillicothe, Owensville

By Jeremy Jacob, Sports Editor
Posted 3/29/23

The Mexico girls were closer to their first victory of the season twice on Saturday.

Mexico at Hotop Classic Photo Gallery

The Lady Bulldogs fell twice during the Chris Hotop Classic in Mexico …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Mexico girls fall short in Hotop Classic; lose 2-1 to Chillicothe, Owensville

Posted

The Mexico girls were closer to their first victory of the season twice on Saturday.

Mexico at Hotop Classic Photo Gallery

The Lady Bulldogs fell twice during the Chris Hotop Classic in Mexico as they allowed two second-half goals to lose 2-1 to Chillicothe (1-1) before dropping the third-place game 2-1 to Owensville (2-4) on penalty kicks. After a 10-minute overtime period and an extra turn of penalty kicks, Owensville’s Brooke Jahnsen knocked in the winning kick for a 3-2 edge in the penalty kick round.

Head coach Sarah Olson said penalty kicks are something that are covered in practice but not too much as that kind of ending is rare.

“You can go whole seasons without it happening, but it is worth going over again and we will probably practice a little more in the coming weeks,” Olson said.

A bright spot all day for Mexico (0-5) was Claire Hudson as she scored both of the team’s goals. The Lady Bulldogs hadn’t scored in their previous three games so those are moments in which Olson said the team can build off.

“We’re calling it a milestone, and we’re working toward milestones,” Olson said. “Our first milestone was to score a goal.”

Hudson used her lanky frame to constantly jostle the ball away from other players, which happened more frequently in the Owensville game. Her goal didn’t allow the Dutchgirls much time to celebrate as after Kylie Kitchen scored in the 50th minute. Hudson came crashing down to the turf after sending through a goal in the 51st minute.

Olson said Hudson was relentless whenever fighting for possession of the ball and was only stopped when she hobbled off the field for an ankle issue. Mexico hopes it’s nothing serious as Hudson affects the game in a positive way.

“Claire does a great job of not backing down,” Olson said. “She knows the job that needs to be done and she is willing to do what it takes to get it done. She gives great effort out there on the field.”

After the overtime period, which only saw one shot, Kitchen and Mallory Eberlin converted on penalty kicks for Owensville while Liz Joiner and Jamilet Medina did the same for the Lady Bulldogs. Olson did say Hudson probably would have kicked in the round if she was healthy.

Before that point, Mexico stayed with Owensville in shots at 19-16 and was close behind in shots on goal at 9-5. The Dutchgirls made the opening minutes seem one-sided, though, as they rattled off several shots, including two that hit the crossbar.

Olson said Mexico’s defense did a good job in helping the Lady Bulldogs keep possession as defenders Joiner, Kenley Jones, Addison Paden and Lexie Willer all made plays in that regard and so did midfielders like Hudson and Katie Gooch.

“Owensville came out with a lot of energy and it took us a little bit to wake up,” Olson said. “After we did though, I was very happy with our play. Really, all of our defense is doing a great job of working together, covering each other, playing the ball to feet, and dribbling the ball out when needed.”

Hudson struck for Mexico in the first game against Chillicothe in the 22nd minute, beating the keeper to a loose ball. That was the first time the Lady Bulldogs owned a lead this year, which lasted until 58th minute.

Olson said Mexico has been more successful in playing together and also has shown better hustle. She said that latter aspect definitely played a part in the goal.

“She just didn’t give up, and she didn’t stop,” Olson said. “A lot of goals aren’t pretty. They’re scrappy, and they happen because of a little mistake. It shows that, when you keep going and keep fighting, good things are going to happen.”

Mexico wasn’t able to overcome its second-half mistakes to allow Chillicothe to grab the lead for good before losing 5-1 to Battle (2-2) for first place later. Chillicothe outshot the Lady Bulldogs 19-4 but just needed to capitalize on chaos to gain the advantage.

In the 58th minute, the Lady Hornets placed a corner kick within a group of players, the ball bounced around for a little bit and then the ball found the back of the net. Mexico failed to clear the ball 10 minutes later as the keeper’s kick ricocheted off a defender prior to finding a Chillicothe player's foot for the score.

“On the corner kick for their first goal, we had the initial clear and we had the header out so that was great,” Olson said. “Maybe someone could step to that other girl a little quick, but there’s not much you can do about that.

“The second one, it was a little chaotic. Maybe we can tweak stuff a little bit so that doesn’t happen again. Continuing to be mentally thinking through things, not just physically doing things on the field is important. That comes with time and play.”

Mexico was scheduled to play its first North Central Missouri Conference foe Kirksville (0-1, 0-1 NCMC) at 5 p.m. tonight at home.


X