NEDERLAND — Port Neches-Groves standout and Lamar signee Makayla Johnson took her best shot from just beyond the penalty box, and Nederland’s Emma Roccaforte made her best save.
“Makayla Johnson, we know, is a very good at turning and shooting from a distance, and she popped one right in the corner,” Nederland coach Keith Barrow said. “My angle, I was right behind her, and I was like, it’s in. Emma … I don’t know, she plays like she’s 6-2, but she’s maybe 5-4.”
Roccaforte’s diving stop with more than 9 minutes to go was one of four saves she made as she preserved a 1-0 Lady Bulldogs victory Tuesday in Bulldog Stadium.
The winning goal came 15 minutes, 30 seconds before halftime from Roccaforte’s junior classmate, Madison Ledet, who scored on a breakaway.
“I just saw a hole in the middle, so I took it to the middle and got out, like coach had told me,” Ledet said.
And there it was, the score that proved to be the difference.
“It’s really big,” Ledet said. “I’m really excited about the goal and the win. I can’t take all the credit. It’s a team effort.”
PN-G coach Aimee Bates was happy with the defensive effort the entire match.
“I thought my girls fought from the start to finish,” she said. “When things weren’t going their way, I thought they did not stop. I’m proud of the effort.”
It was the first meeting of the season between two future Lamar players, Nederland’s Tatum Kieschnick and Johnson. The two signed letters of intent a week ago.
Both teams feverishly attacked the net for the final 40 minutes. Nederland (8-2-1, 3-0-1 District 22-5A) was called for handball midway through the second half, but PN-G (7-5-1, 2-2) failed to capitalize on the penalty kick.
“We just wanted to come into the second half as if it was 0-0,” Barrow said. “I thought we came out strong, and we didn’t want to sit back on a 1-0 lead. We knew they were going to push numbers forward.”
Bates said the Lady Indians tried to create some 1-on-1 situations by spreading out the Lady Bulldogs’ defense.
“They came out with three up top, and we just dropped an extra person back and kept everything in front of our defense,” Barrow said. “We did a good job of holding them off.”
The Lady Bulldogs finished with eight shots on goal to the Lady Indians’ seven. Libbie LeJeune made five saves for PN-G, which hosts Ozen on Friday as Nederland travels to Baytown Lee.