Plowman’s late goal pushes Newton girls past Ballard

It had been nearly two full years since Riley Plowman last got to enjoy a soccer goal at the varsity level.

She spent all of last season out with a knee injury, but the fifth goal of her career came against Ballard on Thursday and it was the game winner during a 3-2 non-conference home win at H.A. Lynn Stadium.

“She was out all last season, but she did not miss a practice and did not miss a game,” Newton head girls soccer coach Susan Altemeier said. “She missed nothing and was here supporting her teammates the entire time. So it’s nice when good things happen and she can be rewarded for that.”

Plowman made a nice individual effort on the game-deciding goal, which came in the 72nd minute.

To avoid contact with the defender and still give herself a chance at the goal, Plowman poked the ball in the air between the charging defender and Ballard goalie Evelyn Faubus and then ran down the ball before Faubus could grab it.

The Cardinal senior eventually put the ball in the back of the net to give her team a 3-1 advantage, and Newton held on to claim its second victory of the spring.

“I just tried to kick it over the defender so I didn’t get taken out,” said Plowman, who was recently fully cleared of the injury after spending the past two matches on a minutes restriction. “I saw she was coming so I did what I could to put myself in a better position to score.”

The Cardinals (2-3) found themselves in front 1-0 at halftime for the second straight contest. This time, Newton finished the deal with a pair of second-half goals.

Against Pella Christian on Tuesday, Newton led 1-0 at halftime but lost 3-1.

“After the tough loss to Pella Christian, we watched some film and really focused on our formation and where we needed to be,” Altemeier said. “We worked on our defensive shape, too. We need to stay patient and not stab at it back there. That was huge for us.”

The first two goals of the match were own goals by each squad. Newton scored first after a Ballard defender knocked in the ball following a Sophia Coady corner kick in the 30th minute.

Ballard’s first goal was an own goal by Newton in the 52nd minute, but Aliviah Ross put the Cardinals back in front with her 20th career goal in the 65th minute.

Ross scored her second goal of the season after Plowman’s initial attempt went off the keeper’s hands.

Plowman, Coady and Kaylee Guthrie all had assists in the win. It was the first career assist for Guthrie.

“We’re starting to play more as a team and less an individuals,” Plowman said. “I think at Pella Christian we fell a part a little bit. We stuck together this time and didn’t let our heads get down when things didn’t go our way.”

Newton had a 23-9 advantage in shots and a 9-4 surplus in shots on goal, but things weren’t always rosy for the Cardinals.

The game was tied through 64 minutes, and they blew a 1-0 lead for the second straight contest. But Altmemeier was proud of the way her team implemented the adjustments they worked on in practice.

“Part of that is me staying upbeat when things don’t go well, too,” Altemeier said. “I’m a work in progress as a coach, and I just tried to help them shake it off and move forward.

“They want to win. They want to do well. They are putting in the work.”

Addy Cibula finished with four saves for the Cardinals. She now has 49 saves this spring, which ranks tied for third in Class 2A.

Faubus, who stopped a Newton penalty kick attempt with 13:30 to play in the match, made seven saves for Ballard, which fell to 0-5.

Notes: The Cardinals took eight corner kicks in the first half, one of which was the Coady attempt that led to the first goal of the match. … Plowman’s last goal before Thursday came on April 15, 2023. She scored three goals as a freshmen, too. … Ballard’s Grace Grundmeyer scored in the 78th minute to close the gap to 3-2, but it was not enough. … Gabbie Humphrey left the game with 12:50 to play in the match because of an injury, but she returned with about 3 minutes on the clock. … Altemeier wants her team to take shots sooner. The offensive players are touching it too many times before their attempts right now. “I felt like they worked really hard today,” Altemeier said. “The team worked more together tonight than in any of the other games this season.” … It was Newton’s second straight win over Ballard. The Cardinals are 8-3 against the Bombers since 2012.