Jaspering?s hat trick lifts Washington over Centerville

Junior Chayse Jaspering?s hat trick and some stout defense in the closing minutes helped Washington hold off Centerville for a 4-3 win in Tuesday?s non-conference girls? soccer match.

Jaspering scored the first two goals of the match, and freshman Cheyanne Schalk added a third on an assist from sophomore Lauren Swan as the Demons (3-10) opened up a 3-0 halftime lead over the Big Reds.

But Centerville (0-11) opened the second half with a newfound intensity. The Big Reds scored twice to trim the Demons? lead to 3-2 midway through the second half.

?We were just getting out-played in the second half,? Washington head coach Kyle Collins said. ?Centerville really wanted it, and they were pushing hard.?

But after the Big Reds pulled within one goal, the Demons took the ball down the field and Jaspering scored her third goal of the night to extend Washington?s lead to 4-2 with 12 minutes remaining. The Demons had several other chances to add to their lead, but weren?t able to score.?

?We had lots and lots of shots, but just couldn?t get it into the back of the net,? Collins said. ?It should have been way more than 4-3. We were really pressuring their net.?

Centerville scored again to make it 4-3 with four minutes remaining in the match, but the Demons picked up their defense in the final minutes. Sophomore Trevje Karugo and freshman Karla Rangel got a little more physical with the Big Reds? players, Collins said, and freshman Tara Gould, who hadn?t played much for the varsity squad, came in and played solid defense. Sophomore Stephanie Evans also moved back from her forward spot to help on defense.

?The girls stepped it up at the end and got physical with them and we got the win,? Collins said.

Collins said he hopes his team can take some momentum from Tuesday?s win into next Tuesday?s Class 1A regional quarterfinal match at No. 12 Mid-Prairie (9-5-1). The Demons lost to the Golden Hawks by scores of 10-0 and 4-2 during the regular season.

?Hopefully we can take that and advance with it,? Collins said. ?Mid-Prairie is going to come hard, so the whole team is going to have to play as one and play its best to get through that.?