The Dux varsity soccer team earned a hard fought and physical 1-1 draw against Mona Shores Thursday night. Some confusion on the sideline over a throw-in resulted in the Sailors striking first in the opening 2 minutes of the game, taking the early 1-0 lead. GK Grace Caywood got her fingertips on the initial shot, but it caromed into the far side of the net.

Despite being down early, the Dux remained composed and continued to gain confidence and momentum over the course of the first half. Though the Dux dominated time of possession, they were unable to net the equalizer. "Mona Shores is a very strong and physical opponent. Despite going down early on a weird sequence of events, I was impressed with how resilient our girls were in matching their physicality, while influencing the game with our style of play. We possessed well, but were not very good offensively in the final third over the first 40 minutes. We really did not generate many quality chances, but we were able to win most battles in the midfield."

The Dux netted the equalizer midway through the second half. Anna Miller drove down the right side of the field before laying a ball back across towards the top of the 18 to a wide-open Marissa Ybarra. As the defense collapsed on her, Ybarra calmly turned and slid a ball back to Jordyn Klaasen who confidently placed the ball up and over the tips of the outstretched arms of the keeper from about 25 yards out.

"Our kids really stepped up their intensity and pace of play in the second half, which created all kinds of problems for them defensively. Our back line matched their speed and physicality, did a great job limiting their counterattack, and really kick-started our own attack by playing with confidence, poise and patience. Our midfield won the game for us tonight. We were quick and decisive with our decisions and distribution, taking away some of their physicality, which really opened things up. We moved much better off of the ball and were more willing to attack and run at them in the second half, which kept them from generating any dangerous chances. Really proud of our team energy, encouragement and effort tonight."

Grace Caywood made 3 saves in net for the Dux, who are 2-0-1 on the season (1-0-1 in the OK Green). They turn around and head to St. Joseph tomorrow night for a non-conference match before returning to league action next Tuesday night at Reeths-Puffer.