WHEATFIELD | With winds out of the west gusting to 30 miles per hour Saturday morning, goals were going to be at a premium in host Kankakee Valley’s girls soccer match with Wheeler.
K.V. scored two goals with the wind at its back in the first half. The only question was whether it would be enough?
The Times No. 7 Kougars (7-5-2) made them stand up in a 2-0 upset win over the No. 5 Bearcats (12-2).
“We knew we had to come out hard because they are ranked,” K.V. junior Alyssa Cox said. “We just had to play our best.”
K.V. went up 1-0 early when Haleigh Wenglarz knocked in a deflection at 4:58 off a Hannah Klemp assist. Brianna Zimmerman made it 2-0 when she knocked in a loose ball that went through goalkeeper Kim Moskovich’s hands at 14:01.
“I’m not sure the wind helped you,” K.V. coach John Hufnagel said. “It was impossible to control anything that went forward in that wind. I certainly didn’t want to be behind in giving them the wind.”
In the second half, K.V. did a good job of keeping the ball on the grass and kept attacking.
Any hopes Wheeler had of rallying were dashed when freshman midfielder Lauren Fratzke collided with a K.V. player and hit the pitch hard. As a precaution, Fratzke left the field in an ambulance after suffering an upper body injury.
“The whole complex of the game changed when Lauren went off the field,” Wheeler coach Bryan Murray said. “Obviously, the girls were a little shell-shocked when you’ve got somebody going off the field in an ambulance. Our prayers are with her."
K.V. keeper Mackenzie DeMars left the game with an injury less than a minute after play had resumed.
“Obviously, we’re hoping and praying Lauren Fratzke’s OK," Hufnagel said. "Mackenzie will heal up just fine."
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