Speed, Wellman lead Jay (08/23/06)

CONNERSVILLE - Jay County's youngsters are playing like veterans.

All but one of the Patriot girls soccer team's goals Tuesday came from a freshman and a sophomore as it pulled away in the second half for a 5-2 win over the Connersville Spartans. The victory kept Jay County undefeated, improving its record to 2-0-1.

The game was tied at two at halftime, but sophomore Brianne Wellman and freshman Pazia Speed took over from there.

Five minutes into the second half Wellman picked up a deflection off a Sara Garringer shot, scoring her second goal and giving the Patriots the lead for good. Speed took care of the rest.

Just a minute after a penalty kick save by junior goalie Abby Loy midway through the second half, fellow junior Dana Horn sent the ball across the field from the right side. Speed was open on the left and came through with the first goal of her career. She put the game away a few minutes later, scoring her second goal with 13:23 left in the contest.

Wellman and Speed led the team with seven and six shots respectively, and Loy came up with 12 saves.

"Abby Loy was awesome in goal," said JCHS coach Sue Rager. "Brianne Wellman and Pazia Speed stepped up a notch tonight. They both played very aggressively."

Wellman scored the first of her two goals just three minutes into the game, and Connersville tied it seven minutes later on a tally by Laura Richards. The game was deadlocked at one for the next 20 minutes before Wellman assisted on senior Caitlin Dunn's first goal of the season.

Richard, who accounted for nine of the Spartans' 14 shots, evened the score with 4:10 remaining before halftime.[[In-content Ad]]