A year ago, Glendale blitzed the Lady Tigers with three goals in the first nine minutes and cruised to a 6-0 win. This year, Republic refused to go quietly in a 3-1 loss to the Lady Falcons on the road.
For much of the first half, Republic controlled possession and kept the pressure on Glendale’s defense. It was a sign that coach Kevin Hauck’s more aggressive style has started to pay dividends, even in a losing effort against a very strong opponent.
“I thought the effort was good tonight. The score was 3-1, but it was a very close match the entire game,” Hauck says. “I thought we put pretty good pressure on them. We missed some opportunities…that were really important. When you play in close games like this, when you’re playing a good team, you have to finish your opportunities. Right now, we’re struggling to finish opportunities.”
The difference in Thursday night’s outcome was that Glendale did finish its opportunities, including one of the few scoring chances it had in the first half. The Lady Falcons struck first in the 21st minute, sliding the ball past Jessica Laster into the side of the net for a 1-0 lead. That’s where the score stood at halftime.
Glendale scored again with about 26 minutes remaining in the game to take a 2-0 lead, but Republic wouldn’t quit.
Emily Jordan scored on a breakaway with 12:47 remaining to make the score 2-1 and get the Lady Tigers back within striking distance. But Glendale answered with one final goal of its own a couple of minutes later to put the game away.
“To come out and be so close, you could say it’s a moral victory,” Hauck says. “But for me, this one is really hard. I knew it was going to be a good match. I felt like it could be a really even match. I was definitely hoping for a better result.”
Despite the loss, Hauck says he’s seeing improvement in the way Republic is playing.
“If you look back at the last three games, we’re starting to get more looks and more opportunities. You go against teams that may not be as good as Glendale, then you come against Glendale and you’re still getting the same looks, you have to feel good about that and confident in that. I feel like our attack is getting stronger,” he says.
Republic is back in action Saturday in St. Louis against Fox.