Putting up a valiant fight

Despite the outcome of the Dogies’ contests last weekend, head soccer coach Sally Hoover was pleased to see how her young team is coming together and showing some promise on the pitch. On Friday, the Dogies battled the Bearcats in Douglas, but came up short with the 0-3 loss. Then, on Saturday, they traveled to Worland to take on a talented Warrior squad and fell 0-6.

In each contest, Hoover’s crew put up a fight, but ultimately inexperience was the downfall of the squad.

“It was disappointing to lose, but the boys really did play well,” Hoover said. “Between the number of players those teams have, and our inexperience, it was just too much for us to overcome.”

It was a cold and blustery day on Friday as the Dogies stepped on the pitch in Douglas, and those conditions paired with facing an aggressive Bearcat team compounded the challenge Hoover’s team faced.

Despite the adversity, the Dogies put up a good fight against Douglas, limiting their shots on goal and holding them out of the net.

“Damian [Ankeney] only had 18 saves, so they weren’t getting a lot of shots off on us,” Hoover said. “We had a couple of miscues on defense, but some of that was due to freshmen inexperience, so we’ll get better on that.”

Douglas were able to get past the Dogie D and Ankeney to find the back of the net 10 minutes into the contest, but Newcastle held them scoreless for the remaining 30 minutes to go into the halftime break down only 0-1.

“We played them tough, but they are physically bigger than we are and they have 40 kids out as well,” Hoover noted. “It makes it really hard to compete against full fresh legs when you don’t come off the field at all.”

With 27 minutes left on the clock in the second half, Douglas got their second goal, and seven minutes later found the back of the net for the last time. The third and final goal by Douglas was a header off of a corner kick, a very difficult shot to defend.

For the remaining 20 minutes, the Dogies worked hard to keep them from scoring any more.

“The kids really worked their tail off and we certainly got pushed around by those bigger guys,” Hoover said, chuckling. “It’s hard for us to simulate that physicality in practice, but it’s something that we need to anticipate and be prepared for.”

Caden Esposito had four shots on goal and Gabe Hoover was close to that with three, so the Dogies were creating offensive opportunities, but the Bearcats’ defensive line was solid and managed to stop those.

The Dogies were up against it again in Worland on Saturday. The Warriors consistently roster a full and talented crew, and they, like Douglas, also have nearly 40 kids out for their program.

The Warriors got on the board eight minutes into the contest, got their second with 18 minutes remaining, and their third two minutes before half to take a 3-0 lead into the break.

“They played good, solid soccer and we were a little out of position defending them,” Hoover said. “Then, in transition, their touches are really good and we just didn’t step up to that challenge.”

In the second half, the Dogies held the Warriors for the first 10 minutes before they got their fourth goal and then it was good back-and-forth soccer, according to Hoover. With three minutes left on the clock, Worland scored on a header from the corner and got their sixth goal with a minute to play.

“Our inexperience really showed on Saturday,” Hoover said. “We were tired after playing on Friday and Worland capitalized on our little mistakes.”

Esposito and Hoover each got off two shots on goal, while Ankeney only had eight saves.

The Dogies had only one contest this week as they hosted Gering on Tuesday in their home opener.

Newcastle @ Douglas 4/4/25 0-3

Caden Esposito: 0-4 shots on goal

Gabe Hoover: 0-3 shots on goal

Damian Ankeney: 18 saves

Newcastle @ Worland 4/5/25 0-6

Caden Esposito: 0-2 shots on goal

Gabe Hoover: 0-2 shots on goal

Damian Ankeney: 8 saves