Soccer: Brentwood Girls Struggle in Frigid Temps

During the pregame warmups, neither Mehlville nor looked particularly excited about playing a game in sub-40 degree temperatures on Saturday.

Once the game started, nothing really changed for Brentwood (5-3), which, at times, seemed more affected by the cold and wind than anything happening on the field.

“Everything about today was rough, especially the game,” Brentwood head coach Corey Grage said. “I think we were just up against a better team today. They were just stronger and better with the ball today than we were.”

Mehlville, on the other hand, played like a team determined to get through a tough day with a hard win, doing so with an impressive 6-0 win over the Eagles.

“It’s been a rough couple of weeks for us,” Mehlville head coach Tom Harper said. “We took some lumps playing some of the top-tier teams in our conference the last couple of weeks. But from what we saw against Webster on Thursday, and last night, and today, I think we’ve learned some lessons from those games.”

Boy did they ever. And the Panthers applied those lessons learned to Saturday’s match with Brentwood, where Mehlville scored early and often in a lopsided win.

Sophomore Kaela Luna put Mehlville on the board 12 minutes into the game, when she banged home her Suburban West Conference-leading 10th goal of the season off a nifty crossing pass from fellow sophomore Jen Prange.

That play got Mehlville on the board, but the key stretch in the game came minutes later, when freshman Rachel Kim scored twice in a span of three minutes, to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead.

Kim’s first tally, her second of the season, came off a setup from fellow freshman Allison Wade. Kim’s next goal came thanks to a brilliant run and pass by junior Abby Presson.

“We’ve got a dominant squad here when we want to be,” Harper said. “It’s just a matter of getting these kids to have the proper mindset.

“A lot of this game is mental, it’s not all physical. If you believe you’re the better team, and believe you’re going to win, it’s a lot easier to come out and do those things, and execute the game plan.”

Senior midfielder Hunter Westbrook set up Mehlville’s next two goals, lifting perfect corner kicks to the front of Brentwood’s net that were slammed home for scores, first by sophomore Shelby Gibson (her first goal of the season), and just before halftime by junior Haylee Thibodeaux (her second goal this season).

The two assists for Westbrook gave her six helpers on the season, and moved her into a tie for the most in the Suburban West Conference with Oakville star Lauren Fussell.

Brentwood played much better in the second half, limiting Mehlville to just one more score, despite the Panthers’ constant offensive charge.

Eagles goalkeeper Liz Wagner, who made two tough saves in the first half, made three scintillating saves in the second half that kept the one-sided contest from getting out of hand.

“She’s a great goalkeeper, and a great field player, too,” Grage said. “She does a great job. Losing Sammi Merlotti, who went out with a knee injury, has been a little bit rough for us. She played a real lockdown center midfield for us. Without her, it’s been rough trying to find girls that can play out at center, and our defense has suffered a bit.”

The victory for Mehlville means it will play in the third-place game of the Webster-Kirkwood Classic on Saturday night at Kirkwood.

Brentwood returns to action on Monday against Jennings in a tournament game at Maplewood Richmond Heights at 4 p.m., followed by a home game on Tuesday against MICDS at 4 p.m.