Lady Tigers are pretty good in pink

It was a big night for the Smith-Cotton girls soccer team on Thursday. The Lady Tigers, sporting pink uniforms as part of their effort to raise money for breast cancer research, dominated both ends of the field and defeated the Warrensburg Lady Tigers 5-1 to earn their 27th straight West Central Conference win.

The large crowd, which donated nearly $1,000 from a 50-50 raffle and a halftime auction, was treated to a strong effort from the home team. Smith-Cotton had three first-half goals on the way to a 3-1 lead at the break, and then added two more in the second half.

“It was a good turnout, a good atmosphere. (Fans) came out for a good cause and got a good result, so it was an enjoyable evening all the way around for us,” said Smith-Cotton coach Shawn Cairer.

Both teams had some early opportunities, but the majority of play came at midfield in the first 20 minutes. Kali Webb and Tiffany Wehmeyer each had shots turned away by Warrensburg goalie Erin Brockhaus as Smith-Cotton started to turn up the pressure.

With 15 minutes left in the opening half, Webb broke the scoreless tie when she broke down the right side and beat Brockhaus with a shot to the far corner for a 1-0 Smith-Cotton lead.

Meagan Klein made it 2-0 10 minutes later, banging a shot off Brockhaus and then punching the rebound into the goal.

Warrensburg (11-7, 5-3) got on the scoreboard in the final two minutes of the half. Katie Nelson nailed a crossing pass to the far post and Kendra Fox was there to boot it past Smith-Cotton keeper Cristian Sharp to make it 2-1.

Smith-Cotton (13-5, 8-0) had a quick answer to that score courtesy of Wehmeyer. She raced past the defense and blasted a long shot that found the upper corner of the goal for a 3-1 advantage at the half.

Cairer was happy to see his team take advantage of scoring chances.

“We were able to capitalize on some opportunities that we created, whereas Tuesday against St. Pius we were unable to,” he said.

Smith-Cotton continued its dominant play in the second half, shutting down the Warrensburg offense and pushing the attack to the Warrensburg defense. On the defensive end, Sharp was solid in goal and Lauren Azan controlled play from the center of the field.

“She’s a monster,” said Cairer of Azan. “She’s the smallest player on the field, but she definitely plays bigger than she is. She does a good job back there.”

Two second-half goals put the game away for Smith-Cotton. With 27 minutes remaining, Wehmeyer got her second score off a corner kick by Chelsey Muths.

Muths blasted the ball into the center of the field. Wehmeyer settled it and then kicked it into the goal to boost the Smith-Cotton lead to 4-1.

Seven minutes later Jack Greer made a chip shot from directly in front of the goal to set the final margin.