Knight girls' sprint past Palmer

PALMER -- It is a well known fact in the local soccer world that the Colony girls' have speed and they use it well.

It was far from a shock to see the Knights come out sprinting against Palmer on Tuesday, but the Moose may have surprised some with their speed. The Moose proved to be quicker than they have in the past, but fell just short of the lightning-fast Knights.

Colony edged the Moose 2-1 in the first action between the cross-town rivals this season.

"It was an up and down game," Palmer head coach Brian Fish said.

The two squads launched into a fast-paced game right from the start. Neither team was able to control the ball in the offensive zone early.

"It was a good, fast-paced game," Colony head coach Lori Miner said. "We have not seen that from Palmer in the past."

Colony junior Jessica Tuomi was also surprised with Palmer's new-found speed and the pace of the game.

"It was quite up and down," Tuomi said.

Tuomi also noted that despite the great speed of Colony, the Knights are still searching for consistency.

"We were disappointed with the way we played," Tuomi said. "We need consistency.

"We're trying to work on our passes and give and goes."

Colony took a 1-0 lead 16 minutes into the first half. Colony held a 2-on-1 opportunity as Sianna Garrod and Kristina Klapperich sprinted down the field. Garrod moved the ball down the field and booted the ball high into the Palmer net to give Colony the one-goal advantage.

Garrod nearly added her second goal of the contest 11 minutes later. The Colony senior drove the ball up the field and was challenged by Palmer goal keeper Tara Harrington. Garrod kicked the ball above the open net.

Minutes later, Palmer was able to catch a break on a Colony turnover and tied the score.

As the Colony defense cycled the ball back into their own zone, Palmer's Felicia Sandvick sprinted forward and intercepted the Colony pass. Colony keeper Julie Costen charged toward Sandvick and the Moose striker passed the ball over to a wide open Leslie Berberich.

The Palmer freshman put the ball into the left side of the Colony net to tie the game at 1-1.

"That was a nice play," Fish said of the goal. "Felicia made a nice play in the midfield to set it up and Leslie, the runner, was doing what she is supposed to. It was a good transition goal and she finished it."

Colony notched the game winner early in the second half.

After the ball squirted down towards the Palmer goal, Klapperich sprinted down to pick up the lose ball.

The Knight junior gained possession, but was in a tight race with Palmer defenseman Jessica Spannagel. Klapperich got a slight edge on Spannagel and was able to put the ball into the Palmer net.

"She has excellent speed and is able to shoot the ball from that corner," Miner said of Klapperich.