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Rifle gets the best of injured Demons

Joelle MilholmPost Independent Staff
Post Independent/Kara K. Pearson
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The Glenwood Springs girls soccer team just can’t catch a break.All four Demon seniors went down with injuries and Chelsea Webb scored two goals to lift Rifle 4-0 over Glenwood on Saturday.With the win, Rifle (3-1-1 Western Slope League) completes a season sweep of the Demons (0-4-0 WSL) after beating them 2-1 on March 23.

Tobie Rippy, Glenwood’s leading scorer and star defender, pulled a hamstring two minutes before the game started, and fellow defender Ali Brown went out with an ankle injury. Brittney Strautman didn’t play because of an injury and the last Demon senior, Theresa Tonozzi, went down with another injury late in the game.”We have injuries like crazy,” said Glenwood head coach Linda Flohr.Webb took advantage of the diminished Demon squad, scoring on two unassisted goals by launching two shots over the outstretched arms of Demon goalkeeper Kelsie Hert. Webb, who has now scored five goals this season, would have had another goal, but her penalty kick was called back after one Bear stepped in the penalty box before she touched the ball.

“(Webb) played well, and I thought the whole team did,” said Rifle head coach Tom Taucher. “Our defense was solid, and we didn’t really allow them many looks, so our backline played well. Our strikers also played well.” Despite having a terrific game, Webb was disappointed because she didn’t get to play against Rippy.”Me and her battled last time – that was really fun,” Webb said. “I was kinda looking forward to playing her. We are really aggressive with each other.”



Caitlin Clay scored Rifle’s first goal when she kicked a rocket that bounced off the far post and into the goal 24 minutes into the game. Danielle Sjogren punched in the Bears’ final goal – a rebound with 6:35 remaining in the game. After getting pounded 7-0 by 5A Grand Junction on Tuesday, Taucher was happy to see Rifle get a win. “We played Grand Junction the other day, and it didn’t fare so well,” he said. “We were hoping to have a rebound, and they came out and played hard. We saw a lot of improvement. We haven’t even reached our potential yet, but I think we are headed in the right direction.”With the injuries, Flohr was forced to play lots of underclassmen and switch players around. Sophomore Ayla Dobbs and freshman Abbe Vincent played well on defense for the Demons, while Chelsea Vallario and Corrina Gibson worked hard on the offensive end and came up with three scoring chances late in the game. “We’ve got a lot of people going out there and trying their best and going out there and playing positions they’ve never played before,” Flohr said. “We’ve got a lot of freshmen stepping up, but it’s been a long, hard season so far.”


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