A sure goal appeared to be at hand – or at foot – when Icis Lopez was suddenly bowled over by an opposing player.
“I could have made the shot,” Lopez said after the game. “I was dribbling, and then, she pushed me super hard.”
On Jan. 5, Lopez and the Springtown soccer girls were hosting and playing their first tournament of the season, and the score was 0-0. The referee blew his whistle and called a penalty on Carter-Riverside after the Lopez hit.
The penalty occurred in the box near Carter-Riverside’s goal, and Springtown would be allowed to attempt a penalty kick against a lone goalie.
One kicker. One goalie. May the best athlete win.
In these situations, Springtown soccer coach Katherine Kummerfeld can pick anyone on the roster to make the kick. Lopez had never attempted a penalty kick. For a moment, the sophomore wasn’t sure she wanted to try. The pressure is high on both the kicker and the goalie.
Kummerfeld wanted Lopez to make the kick.
“I told her I believed in her,” the coach said.
She gave the player a piece of advice: Think of the shot as a hard pass rather than a penalty kick.
“It helps some girls to be like, OK, I can do a pass, I'm really accurate with passing,” Kummerfeld said. “If they think of it that way, as a hard pass to the edge of the goal, that can help their mindset.”
Lopez took the suggestion to heart.
“I was trying to believe in myself,” she said. “I knew the ball had to be on the ground and hard. I was aiming for the right corner.”
Lopez is right-footed, and she figured the goalie might suspect she would aim for the left corner of the net. Lopez shot right instead.
Lopez’s first goal of the season gave the Lady Porcupines a 1-0 lead, and they would go on to win 2-0.
“I'm happy you went for it,” Kummerfeld told Lopez afterward. “You deserved it. You were the one who was fouled. I felt like you could do it, and you did it.”
Lopez is new to Springtown, relocating recently from San Antonio. She struggled with feeling homesick at first but is settling in with her new scene.
Kummerfeld is glad to have her on the team.
“She has been an awesome asset, bringing skills but also positivity,” the coach said. “She has been complimenting and encouraging some of the less-confident girls, and I’ve been really happy to see that.”
After toppling Carter-Riverside, the Lady Pines gathered around Kummerfeld for a post-game pep talk. The girls would be playing two games the following day, and the coach told them to eat good food and rest for those matches. The Lady Pines would go on to finish in second place in the eight-team tournament at Pojo Stadium.
On Jan. 12-14, Springtown will compete at a tournament at Castleberry High School. District competition is slated to begin Feb. 2.
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