Goals pile up in 2nd half for Mid-Prairie girls in shutout of Columbus

WELLMAN — Julia Boller helped Mid-Prairie pull away from a 0-0 halftime score for a 7-0 win against visiting Columbus with her speed and ball-hawking abilities Monday in a non-conference girls soccer match.

When asked how many goals she scored, Boller replied, “Two.” When asked how many assists, a Golden Hawk teammate chimed in with, “Like a billion.”

Defense kept Mid-Prairie in the match until the offense broke out, and it broke out in a hurry with two goals in 20 seconds.

"They beat us with their speed,“ Columbus coach Alfredo Piedra said. “But two goals that quick, that’s on us: we put our head down, and we just can’t do that. It comes down to our attitude, and it has to be a lesson learned for our girls.“

Just 2 minutes, 23 seconds into the second half, Boller sent a pass from the middle out to left wing Kaitlyn Martin for a goal. Twenty seconds later, Esther Hughes found a Boller pass for a 2-0 lead.

With 32:43 remaining, Boller blasted a rebound from the crossbar to make it 3-0. It was 4-0 when Boller ran down a through ball and put it in between the legs of the keeper for a 4-0 lead.

The defense held on behind Emily Curtiss, Emma Slaubaugh and Evelyn Gerber.

“Evelyn is our leader of the defense and does a good job denying people the ball,” Mid-Prairie coach Justin Barthelman said. "We didn’t really change anything at halftime. This year, we come out flat and don’t play to our potential, then in the second half, we come back and start putting stuff away.“

Hughes made it 5-0 on a cross from Katrina Curtiss with 22:17 left. Gerber caught up to a through ball for a score at 16:07, and Kina Miller converted a penalty kick in the final minute.

“I think our attitude changed and we worked more as a team in the second half,” said Boller, who missed a number of games early in the season from stretched ACL and a bone bruise. She scored three goals in her first game back although claiming she was out of shape. “I just went, and it was all because of my teammates.”

Columbus is 4-3 and plays Central Lee today. Mid-Prairie is 7-3 and plays No. 9 Regina (4-3) at Iowa City today.

Hughes has 17 goals, fourth in Class 1A and Regina’s Grace Gaarde has 16, tied for sixth.

“To beat Regina we have to start off strong in the first half,” Boller said. “We can’t play one half, we have to play the whole game.”