Allendale opened it's home campaign on Friday against the Wildcats of Wayland Union.  After a week of being forced inside due to snow and ice, the team was thrilled to finally be able to play a game on their own turf, and that eagerness showed in the first half.  It took 7 minutes for Lauren Butterfield to find Avery Terpstra inside the opponents attacking area.  Terpstra was able to convert, opening the scoring for the Falcons. Just over one minute later Terpstra connected with Kennadi Fuller who found the back of the net for the Falcon's second goal.  

Fully in control, Allendale continued to press, and Kristen Maycroft assisted Halle Battjes for the third goal.  Battjes took a small touch, and chipped the ball in the back of the net from 25 yards out.  The Falcons were not done yet in the first half, as Rachel Sinnot took the ball into the corner, and then sent a low line drive into the box, that Brielle Joslyn was able to hammer home.  With the first half coming to a close, Sheila Gutierrez crashed the net after a shot from Addison DeMott, and was able to take advantage of the mishandle by the Wayland goalkeeper, bringing the score to 5-0 at the half.

In the second half, the team didn't slow down much, maintaining possession throughout, and working the ball around, looking for the best opportunities to strike.  It didn't take long for Fuller to find Terpstra, and in a reverse if the combination in the first half, Terpstra scored her 10th goal in 7 games.  As time wore on, Allendale had multiple opportunities, including one from Anna Koning that floated over to the back post, bouncing just back into play, which Jenna Gerakinis was able to bang home from point blank range, scoring her first goal in a Falcon uniform.

The game ended with an unassisted goal from Lauren Butterfield, who was able to read the pass to mae the steal, and then pulled the trigger almost immediately to score the 8th goal of the game for Allendale.  Overall, the team took the opportunity they were given today to play good smart soccer, which they will hope to parlay into better games in the weeks to come.  With 7 different goal scorers, 7 different players registering assists, and a defense that secured it's 5th clean sheet of the young, 7 game season, this team is looking forward to great things over the remainder of the 2018 campaign.

Statistics (Parenthesis represent season totals):

Goals: Terpstra; 2 (10), Fuller (6), Battjes (1), Joslyn (1), Gutierrez (1), Gerakinis (1), Butterfield (2)

Assists: Butterfield (3), Terpstra (1), Maycroft (4), Sinnott (1), DeMott (1), Fuller (4), Koning (3)