Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor

After a 2-game stint where she saw her team get outscored by a total of 14-0 to conference rivals Cretin-Derham Hall and Roseville, the girls head varsity soccer coach, Jenny Hollaren, summed it best.

ìIt just wasnít a really good week,î she said. ìThe girls werenít connecting, and I think they were frustrated.î

However, there was a glimmer of hope when the team regrouped and beat Chisago Lakes on Saturday, Sept. 9, 1-0. Hollaren would have liked to see more goals from the Ranger offense, but after the 7-0 and 5-0 losses, just getting into the win column was a pleasant change.

ìWe played better. It was a game we definitely needed,î she said.

The fact that the defense was able to record a shutout was a nice perk from the afternoon.

The gameís only goal came after a great shot by Forest Lake junior Abbie Paulson was deflected by the Chisago Lakes goaltender. Junior forward Jessica DeGennaro was there to clean up the rebound and give the Rangers the win.

BLACK TUESDAY

The week got off to an ugly start on Tuesday, when the girls played Cretin at Macalaster College in St. Paul.

Cretin-Derham scored so quickly it felt like they were given a three goal lead before the game even began.

With so much offensive pressure applied by the Raiders, the ball was constantly in Forest Lakeís end. Whenever the Rangers looked like they could make a break for it, Cretin would shut Forest Lake down and control play on the offensive end. By the time the first half was over the score was 5-0, and Hollaren was left with a list of things that did not go right.

ìThis was our first game that we came out flat, unmotivated, not working hard, not working together and just had a really horrible half,î she said.

The second half was a noticeable improvement, and Hollaren felt it was a more realistic representation of what her girls can do. Cretin was limited to two goals, making the final score 7-0.

ìItís slowly coming,î Hollaren said. ìWeíve got injuries that were hurting us today. The key thing is to get our offense going, and thatís where weíre struggling right now.î

STILL NO O

Any thoughts of putting Tuesday behind them with a strong showing on Sept. 7, were quickly dashed when Roseville outplayed the Rangers in the first half.

ìI was hoping to win, and the girls were thinking they were going to win, too. We just made some costly mistakes,î Hollaren shared.

Three of those mistakes were huge, which led directly to Roseville goals in the 5-0 decision.

HASTINGS RECAP

With last Saturdayís victory over Chisago Lakes to build from, Forest Lake hosted Hastings on Monday evening.

The Rangers were able to put two goals up on the scoreboard, courtesy of Danielle Boldenow and Paulson, but after Forest Lake tied the game at two in the second half, Hastings rallied for a pair of goals to secure the 4-2 win.

The action in this game was back and forth and up and down as it appears the Forest Lake offense is beginning to come around.

The girls play at Stillwater (1-6) on Thursday night.

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