Wildcats Shake Off Rough Start, Nilges Commands in PKS for Win
Save, score, mentor.
Riley Nilges can do a little bit of everything.
On top of key saves throughout regulation and two overtimes, the sophomore goalie faced eleven of Mehlville’s finest shooters in penalty kicks and even took it into her own hands by sinking a PK of her own for good measure.
“Its momentum boosting. Stepping up we were all nervous with not really practicing PKs, I had a lot of the weight and I feel like me putting [my goal] away helped boost the team” said Nilges.
In between penalty kicks, Nilges could be seen pushing her hands down, motioning to her teammates a quick reminder to stay composed.
“I have to remind a lot of my girls that they have time and they can calm it down. Psychologically I know how hard it is on some of the younger players”, Nilges mentioned.
With a 4:15 start time, it took till dusk to settle what started off as a rocky start for the Hazelwood West Wildcats. The visiting Mehlville Panthers quick speed and disciplined passes kept the ball in West’s half for the majority of the first half but neither team was able to convert on opportunities.
It wasn’t the start that Wildcat Coach wanted but keeping the Panthers off the board for those first 40 minutes was a win.
What he did want out of his girls was the effort.
“We had to adjust our attitude...We had to have some idea that we could do it”, Hazelwood West Coach John Leber said.
When the horn sounded for the second half, the Wildcats looked like a whole different team. West’s forwards were able to consistently apply pressure that led to real opportunities.
Junior forward McKayla Giles saw an open lane during a scramble in front of the net and tallied the first goal of the game with 15 minutes remaining in the first.
Coach John Leber was happy with what he saw, “Second half was a good effort; I was able to get more players into the game which helps with our bench.” Coach Leber Continues, “The girls stepped up and acted like they wanted to play. They were ok playing positions they hadn’t played before and I think that helped everyone.”
Unfortunate for the Wildcats, an injury stoppage leads to the Panthers earning a free kick into their zone to which Mehlville sophomore forward Isabelle Bokern scored with only 3 minutes left to play.
Extra time was needed.
Two overtimes saw no change in the score all while the sun was setting and losing light on the Hazelwood campus, which has no lights.
Riley Nilges for West and Mehlville’s Loren Vandover took their turns facing ten shooters each, without either squad coming out ahead. Nilges stopped her 11th shooter and with sudden death in effect, Senior caption Alex Bustamante sunk the final kick of the night.
Bustamante will continue to play soccer in college with the Indiana Kokomo Cougars.
A multi-sport athlete, Coach John Leber is happy to have goalie Nilges anchoring his squad.
“She can play many sports, this just happens to be one of her better ones, so we’re glad she’s here”.
