OTTUMWA — Lexi Terpstra has already proven she can run past with the best track and field athletes in the state.
It didn't take long on Tuesday for Terpstra to prove she can use that speed to run away from opposing defenses on the soccer field.
Terpstra converted the first run of the season for the Pella Christian girls soccer team into a goal just over a minute after the opening kick-off at Schafer Stadium. Almost 30 minutes later, Terpstra used her speed to dash past Ottumwa's defense on a 50-yard run that ended with her second goal of the season, helping the Eagles clinch a 2-0 win over the Bulldogs in the opening match for both squads.
"It was an awesome way to start the season," Terpstra said. "We had a scrimmage on Friday that went well, but to solidify the progress we've made in a match is pretty rewarding."
Terpstra not only scored both goals, but had the most chances finishing with 13 of the 39 shots taken between the teams in the match. Esther Ford and Maggie Vos each received assists with Ford finding Terpstra on the first touch of the season for the Eagles, leading to a goal on Pella Christian's first shot just 64 seconds into the first regular-season match.
"I love starting off that way," Pella Christian head girls soccer coach Matt Dowie said. "Hopefully, it gives us a little bit more momentum. It was a dream start for both this match and the entire season for us."
Ottumwa (0-1) tried to answer the quick strike by the Eagles, keeping the ball on their side of the field for several minutes creating multiple chances at scoring a tying goal. Ilana Vasconez, Ottumwa's top returning goal scorer having connected on 17 last season in 16 matches, had the first run at the net for the Bulldogs dribbling in to challenge Pella Christian sophomore goal keeper Julianne Van Gorp.
In her first season starting in the net for the Eagles, Van Gorp stood tall in her first challenge of the season stopping Vasconez as the two came together just outside the net. Vasconez would finish with a team-leading nine shots in the match, but would not be able to find the net with several shots just drifting high or wide including a late free kick with eight minutes left in the second half.
"We had some really good chances. We've just got a young team right now and we got beat a couple times on runs to the net," Vasconez said. "We aren't really used to the speed of (Pella Christian), but we talked through it at halftime and made some good adjustments."
Aaliyah Garza came the closest to any Bulldog player to finding the back of the net, sending a ball in the first half lofting into the wind that was high enough to avoid being knocked away by Van Gorp but struck the crossbar instead of sinking into the top of the net for what would have been the tying goal. The near miss by Garza was followed by a goal kick by Vos that found Terpstra, who dribbled all the way down the field culminating with a goal with 9:21 left in the first half that put Pella Christian up 2-0.
"You can't coach speed. You just have to try and contain (Terpstra)," Ottumwa head girls soccer coach Matthew Erlandson said. "We made some adjustments to at least get a chip on their forwards before they could take off. We also had our chances. It wasn't just about them scoring goals. We had shots that were stopped, shots that just missed going in. Aaliyah put the ball exactly where we'd want it. It just didn't go in.
"We had a header that almost went in. We almost scored off a scramble. I feel like the girls played above a level they may have felt like they were capable of. The effort was there. It's all there. I think there's a lot of positives that we can take away from this match and ...
