By Jim Fryar
Globe Sports Writer
—
Missouri Southern hammered shot after shot at Newman goalkeeper Christina Farid.
Two of those shots clanked off the crossbar and Farid made a diving stop of another. The Lions were relentless as the game wore on and the Newman defense seemed to sag against the repeated assaults.
Then with four minutes remaining in the second overtime session, Newman’s Sade Humphrey headed home a loose ball from a scrum in front of the goal and the Jets spoiled Missouri Southern’s home opener with a 1-0 decision Sunday at Hal Bodon Field.
“That’s the way soccer goes sometimes,” said Alese Woolard, Southern coach.
“We dominated the majority of the game. We played extremely well. We had our chances.”
The Lions, who finished the abbreviated nonconference portion of their schedule 0-2, are still looking for their first goal.
But Southern created plenty of scoring opportunities. The Lions took 16 shots and seven of those were on goal.
With about five minutes remaining in the second half, junior Michelle Dimza blasted a shot from the right side which got over Farid and slammed into the crossbar on the south end of Bodon Field.
Dimza led the Lions with five shots, including two on goal.
Midway through the first overtime, sophomore Cortney Sanders got a one-on-one opportunity against Farid. Sanders’ shot hit the bar on the right side of the north net and skipped harmlessly away.
Moments later, Farid was diving for another of her seven saves. Sanders and sophomore Lindi Spilchen had three shots each for the Lions.
But the only shot which eventually mattered was the one off Humphrey’s forehead, spoiling a strong performance in goal by the Lions’ Randi Russell.
Woolard refused to let the loss diminish her satisfaction with the way Missouri Southern played.
“We have some things to fix and we know it,” she said. “But we have a lot of positive things going. We have a lot of things to build on.
“There is nothing glaring (to fix when the Lions resume practice), like that is the downfall of our game. We just have some little things we kind of need to tweak ... fine-tuning.”
Southern senior Sarah Evers, scheduled to return from knee surgery, sat the nonconference games Friday night at Northeastern (Okla.) State and Sunday. Evers rolled an ankle in practice and was held out as a precautionary measure, Woolard said.
“We’re just giving her time to heal,” the Southern coach added. “We’re not 100 percent. I would be more concerned right now if we were peaking instead of just beginning the season.”
The Lions start MIAA play on Thursday at Washburn. Their first home match will be 7 p.m. Saturday, against Emporia State.
