Kayla Foster returns, scores equalizer in 2-1 OT loss to Westmoore

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School girls’ soccer team (9-3) hosted the Westmoore Lady Jaguars (7-6) for Senior Night Friday night at Memorial Stadium and suffered a 2-1 overtime loss. This marks the first time this season the Lady Sandites have dropped back-to-back games, having lost a 6-1 drag out to Jenks (6-5) on Tuesday.

Westmoore made a close run early on as one of the Lady Jaguars fired off a close shot in the first three minutes that escaped a dive by Sandite keeper Abigail Banks and was left completely unattended with the goal wide open. Breanna Campbell managed to beat the Jags to the ball and clear the box, getting the ball to Kyndal Zicker who made a pair of scoreless runs.

The Lady Sandites nearly scored soon after as Emma Peak volleyed a corner kick by Megan DeShazo that snuck wide. The Jags took the offense from there and Allie Gordon got the visitors on the board in the 8th minute.

Zicker had a good look at the goal in the 12th minute, sending a shot off at the unguarded left side of the net, but snuck it just a tad wide. The rest of the half was uneventful and Westmoore held the 1-0 lead at halftime.

Gordon took another shot just minutes into the second half that traveled wide. Zicker nearly scored the equalizer twelve minutes into the half, netting an offside goal attempt. Westmoore made a few big runs from there, keeping Banks on her toes with the Sandite goalie picking up three nice saves in under five minutes.

Kayla Foster, who hasn’t seen action since sustaining an injury nearly a month ago against Bixby, finally returned to the field to fire off the closest Sandite shot of the game. The ball traveled just a hair wide with 7:20 to go, but Foster got a re-do off a corner kick with 1:29 to play to tie things up and force overtime.

Unfortunately for the Lady Sandites, Brooklyn Fink netted a game-winning penalty kick less than two minutes into the extra period. Sand Springs returns to action next Tuesday in a Highway 97 Rivalry matchup at Sapulpa (5-7), while Westmoore will be taking on Deer Creek (8-3) that night. 

Jenks Trojans smother Sandite offense, boys fall 3-0

By: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director
Photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School boys soccer team (2-10) hasn't ended up on the winning side of things very often this season, but no one can say they don't put forth effort. The Sandites lost another hard fought match, this time against Jenks High School (3-1-5) on the road by a final score of 3-0. 

The initial 17 minutes of first half action saw mostly possession battle, until a Trojan cross took a ricochet and midfielder Trace Gelso stroked a volley from 35 yards out to the left-upper-90 for a 1-0 lead. Sand Springs would attempt to push the ball for the remainder of the half but would only manage one shot, by Ignacio Garcia that curled just past the right post. Sandite goalkeeper Edgar Soberano made a number of impressive diving saves on shots and kept his team just one goal down headed into the intermission. 

Jenks extended its lead to two goals less than three minutes into the second half. Jack Deer took a touch off of a cross from the right sideline and shot the ball just past Soberano who dove a split second late. 

The Sandites had a pair of dangerous opportunities to score, but shots from Sam Short and Cody Gurley were both saved by the Trojan keeper's diving efforts. Jenks put the game away with 8 minutes remaining on Gelso's second goal of the match.  

The Sand Springs squads return to action with home games Friday evening against Westmoore High School. The girls kick off at 6 pm. and the boys at 8 pm. 

Zicker scores lone goal as Jenks dominates Lady Sandite Soccer 6-1

By: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director
Photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Losing is rare for the Charles Page High School girls soccer team (9-3), and they haven't made a habit of it as they have yet to lose back-to-back games this season. The Jenks High School girls soccer team (6-3) proved to be a very difficult adversary. The three losses for the Lady Trojans were all heart-breakers, each coming by one goal in extra time. 

University of Arkansas-commit Nayeli Perez wasted no time getting Jenks on the board. In the 4th minute, Perez turned on a throw-in and netted a goal past diving Sand Springs keeper Abigail Banks. In the 21' Perez would notch her second goal of the game on a penalty kick, again just past the hands of Banks. The Lady Sandites' usually prolific offense was shut down in the first half, failing to get off a shot on goal.  

Early in the second half the momentum took a brief change in direction though, as Lady Trojan Hannah Roth was presented her second yellow card and Jenks would be forced to play the rest of the match down one player.  

It didn't take long for Sand Springs to capitalize on the advantage. In the 58' Melina Flores passed the ball in to Kyndal Zicker who put the Sandite girls on the board with a left footed goal. Just moments later Megan Deshazo, who scored six goals in her last game, had a chance to equalize the game but her attempt to chip the keeper went wide. 

After Deshazo's miss, momentum swung back in the undermanned Lady Trojans' favor, as Megan Huth and Taylor Pugh scored a pair of goals each and Perez picked up two assists to lock the game up for Jenks. 

The Sand Springs squads return to action with home games Friday evening against Westmoore High School. The girls kick off at 6 pm. and the boys at 8 pm.  

DeShazo dominates Putnam North with 6 goals, Lady Sandites win 9-1

By: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director

The Charles Page High School girls soccer team (9-2) returned home to face Putnam City North High School (4-5) after a tough road loss. The Lady Sandites fell to the Union High School Lady Redskins (9-0) who are ranked #2 in the nation earlier this week, but rebounded with an impressive 9-1 victory over the Lady Panthers, their second highest win this season.

Sand Springs got things rolling quickly, scoring two goals in the first eight minutes en route to a 5-0 lead at the end of the first half. Junior Megan Deshazo got things started in the opening moments off of an assist from Kyndal Zicker. Deshazo scored the next two as well to notch a hat trick less than a quarter of the way into the game, one coming via penalty kick. Zicker got herself on the board after a free kick by Brooklyn Eardley ricocheted directly to her for a wide open shot. The Lady Panther goalie got a hand on it but not enough to stop the strike. Deshazo scored her fourth goal of the game just before the half on a misplay by the Lady Panther defense.  

The second half was nearly as lopsided as the first, though Lady Panther Courtney Tate managed to get her team on the board. Zicker and Eardley both scored for Sand Springs on penalty kicks, and Deshazo scored another two goals to put her total at an incredible six for the match.  

The back line for Charles Page was stifling, allowing just one shot on goal for the entire match. The line consisted of Jae Anthony-Wilson, Bryn Lewis, Emma Peak, and Mckinzie Horton. 

The Charles Page High School boys soccer team (2-9) came home for another tough matchup, this time against Putnam City North High School (7-4). Earlier in the week the Sandites battled hard against nationally ranked Union High School (9-1) but came up short. 

It was another hard fought nail biter for Garland Betts's team, as the match saw the visiting Panthers take an early one goal lead that they would not relinquish. Sand Springs made a number of solid runs downfield but were unable to come up with the equalizer. In the final minute Sandite of the Week Ethan Baxter dribbled deep into the box with a defender draped all over him, but couldn't manage to get the ball off of his cleat and the Sandites fell 1-0.  

Both teams will return to district play on April 12th, in Jenks. The Girls will play at 6 pm and the Boys at 8 pm. The Trojans are 2-4 and the Lady Trojans are 5-3. 

Undefeated Union soccer teams too much for Sandites

By: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director
Photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School Girls Soccer team (8-2) carried a large amount of momentum into unquestionably their toughest matchup of the year. The Lady Sandites had won 6 straight including the Edison Green and White Tournament Championship beating Tulsa Memorial, Booker T. Washington, and Tulsa Edison by a combined score of 8-3. The Union High School Lady Redskins (8-0) entered the match undefeated and ranked #2 in the nation. They feature three Division 1 commits in Brianna Amos, Taylor Malham, and Parker Goins. Goins and Malham are both juniors committed to the University of Arkansas. Amos is a sophomore, and is committed to the University of Central Arkansas. 

The Lady Redskins raced out to a two goal lead five minutes in on goals from Amos and Malham. Payton Lieb then scored back-to-back goals on assists from Malham, and Malham scored her second goal of the half in the 32' to put Union up 5-0. Sand Springs managed to get off three shots just before half, but the hits from Oral Roberts University commit Brooklyn Eardley, and Lauren Tavaglione went just wide of goal, and Megan Deshazo's shot attempt was dove on by Redskin keeper Paige Hobart. 

Sandite keeper Abigail Banks and the back line really tightened things up in the second half though, as Banks made a multitude of impressive saves and Union was only able to score one goal. Sand Springs was held to just four shots for the entire game by the Redskins' stifling defense and lost by a final score of 6-0.  

The Charles Page High School Boys (2-8) traveled to the Union Soccer Complex to face the Union High School boys soccer team (9-0) who also came in nationally ranked, at #8. 

Sand Springs played extremely well defensively allowing just one goal in the first half, coming on a penalty kick from Aaron Ugbah in the 27'.  Sandite goalie Edgar Soberano read the kick and dove for it, but Ugbah placed it just past Soberano's fingertips. 

Charles Page managed just 2 shots for the match, the only one on goal coming from the left foot of midfielder Alex Hernandez. The shot came from well outside the box and was saved by the Redskin keeper. Danny Perez put the nail in the Sandites' coffin with a goal in the 69' to push the lead to 2-0. 

Defensively the Sandites played very impressively, allowing just two goals to a team that has outscored their opponents 30-5 for the year. The back line is composed of Billy Pelfrey, Gabe Jeffus, Kristian Fairchild, and Kaleb Brooks.  

Sand Springs will play next at home on Friday against Putnam City North, Varsity Girls at 6 pm. and Varsity Boys at 8 pm. 

Sandites take sixth place at Edison Green and White Tournament

Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School boys (2-7) settled for a sixth place finish at the Edison Green and White Tournament Saturday afternoon, falling 2-0 to the host team for a 1-2 tournament record. 

The Eagles (5-3) got off to a heavy offensive early on and the bulk of the first half was spent in Sandite territory, with shots ringing out left and right. Steven Astin got off one shot that was completely undefended and miraculously caught the goal post for the save.

Sophomore Blake Faulkner was all over the ball but took a while to get sighted in. His first shot deflected off a Sandite defender, two minutes later he sent one wide left, and two minutes after that he sent one high through the football goal posts. Finally he found his mark in the 12th minute and found an opening under triple coverage to fire a shot right to the center of the goal. 

Edison didn't stop their press there. Cameron Chamberlin took a shot just two minutes later, then Eddie Vargas bounced one off a Sandite's back a few minutes later. 

Sand Springs finally began to make some offensive moves in the 21st minute as Ethan Baxter, who just recorded a hat trick in Friday's victory over Regent Prep, made a close run at goal but was tripped up by the Eagle goalie who made a dive at the ball. 

Austin Morrison had a very close shot as he bounced a header off the ground in front of the goal and it just narrowly flew high. Alex Hernandez sent in a corner kick soon after and Kaleb Brooks sent a header high and wide. 

From there, however, the Eagles returned to the offense for the duration of the half. Vargas and Angel Torres each took long shots that sailed high. In the final minute Sand Springs tried to rally as Hernandez took a wide shot with 45 seconds left and Cade Loomin made a run at goal in the final seconds, but regulation expired with the Sandites in a 1-0 hole.

The second half was a lot slower, but Edison furthered their lead to 2-0 with a goal in the 11th minute by Jack Coon. Hernandez got off another pair of shots for the Sandites, sending one high and one wide, and Morrison got another close call as he tipped one off the post with 2:40 remaining. Unfortunately the boys were unable to rally and ran out of steam.

The Sandites will return to action Tuesday night at Union (6-0).