For one night, Alonso's Kaytie Layton said she'll get to enjoy her first win against district opponent Plant, as the Ravens defeated the Panthers 2-1 Wednesday behind a goal and an assist from the junior.
But only for a night, as Layton and the Ravens put themselves in position to play for a No. 1 seed in the Class 6A-District 8 tournament when Alonso faces Bloomingdale on Friday.
"I feel like this win lifts a big weight off my shoulders to finally beat Plant," Layton said. "Now we have to focus on Bloomingdale."
The Ravens and Panthers played to a 0-0 draw Nov. 29 and Alonso (11-2-1) lost to Bloomingdale in the teams' first meeting.
Plant dominated possession in the first half but was only able to find the back of the net once. Midfielder Molly Ganther flicked in a goal off a Rebecca Rinkevich corner kick in the 23rd minute.
Alonso responded quickly when Layton followed a looping ball into the box from Lauren Mullen and sent the ball in around Panthers keeper Danielle Leroy.
"Katie is great," Alonso coach Kate Tancrell said. "She works really hard and she is really good at placing herself where she needs to be."
The Ravens notched the decider in the second half when sophomore Julia Atenza drilled a shot to the far post after Layton found her in the box.
"We haven't beaten Plant since I've been here," Atenza said. "We all played with heart and wanted to beat them."
For the Panthers, a number of missed opportunities and unlucky breaks left Coach Kelvin Jones shaking his head.
"I said to them at the water break was that frustration was going to be our worst enemy," Jones said. "You've got to keep plugging away and hope that it comes."
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