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It took most of the game Tuesday, but the Grand Junction High School girls soccer team finally got a ball past Central goalkeeper Nikki Madaris. The Tigers fired numerous shots at Madaris throughout the game and dominated possession at Walker Field, but it wasn't until Malia Yang broke through with less than three minutes remaining that Grand Junction secured a 1-0 victory. Yang said it was a relief to finally score after the Tigers were given so many opportunities. "We were so frustrated and so committed to getting a goal that I'm just happy that one went in," she said. Yang's goal came off a deflection in the box and the freshman shot the rebound into the lower right corner. Grand Junction coach Joe Graham praised Madaris for frustrating his offense and added that he was excited to see his team crack the defense. "Nikki Madaris is so good in goal and we just knew that it was going to be a real challenge," Graham said. "We couldn't just get by without quality opportunities. It was so nice to see Malia finish in the last two minutes instead of having to go to overtime, which Central seems to be able to do with anybody they go up against. They're really able to force that 0-0 game." For the first half, the Tigers (3-0) tilted the field, unleashing a barrage of shots on the Warriors (0-3). But even as Grand Junction maintained an advantage in possession and shots, Madaris turned away each attempt. Madaris cut short several through balls, jumped into traffic to intercept crosses and punched away two hard shots late in the first half. Madaris' mastery continued in the second half as the Warriors had a handful of defensive breakdowns. The goalie bailed her team out nearly until the final whistle. With 13 minutes remaining, Madaris pushed wide an attempt from Grand Junction, then kicked away the rebound. Less than two minutes later, she smothered another shot after the ball bounced around the box. The sophomore finished with 19 saves and even looped several shots towards the Tigers' goal on free kicks. For Central coach Ethan Johnson, Madaris' skill in net and big leg on free kicks are key to Central staying in games. "She's amazing," Johnson said. "We're definitely blessed with her. She's such a top goalkeeper. Junction has a great goalie, good goalies around the league as well, but I don't know if I've seen one really match the number of saves Nikki has made. Maybe that's because we struggle defensively a little bit, but if it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be in the game. We have to figure out how to build on offense, but Nikki is taking care of things back there. "She's played a huge role in kicks just because she can boot it 50 yards. That's something where obviously the rest of the team isn't quite on the same page yet, but we'll get there." For a team with nine freshmen and four sophomores on the varsity roster, Graham said Grand Junction's strong start is encouraging. "I think it's great for them," Graham said. "They're building a lot of chemistry and to get a tough win like this will help us keep that going."

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Central High School Athletics

LATE GOAL LIFTS GRAND JUNCTION PAST MADARIS AND CENTRAL

MATT MEYER

The Daily Sentinel | 3/25/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Christopher Tomlinson