No rust here.

After sitting out Central’s last few games due to ineligibility, Savannah Moore sparked a victory in her return to the Warriors’ goal Tuesday night. Central upped its league record to 5-1-0 (7-3-0 overall) with the win. Grand Junction fell to 4-2-0 (8-3-0)
Grand Junction fired shot after shot at the junior goalie. Every time Moore was called on, she made the stop.

“This is the type of goalkeeper I can see in Savannah,” said head coach Larry Johnson of Moore’s 19-save, 2-0 shutout over the Tigers. “That what defines a truly good goalkeeper.

“You never give up on a shot,” Johnson added.

And Moore refused to yield. Even though Grand Junction forced her into making nine saves in the first half and another 10 in the second.

Ari Herrera eased Moore’s burden when the Central freshman broke a scoreless tie in the 37th minute on an assist from Ashley Paul.

“Ari took that ball down the left side and got a corner kick out of it. Haleigh Higgins hit the cornerkick to Ashley. I told the team that I wanted to play through her because she makes such good decisions,” said Johnson.

Good choice.

“Ashley had her back to the goal, she laid it off, and Ari hit a nice controlled ball out of the goalkeeper’s reach,” Johnson explained.

But clinging to a 1-0 lead against a dangerous Tigers team was a tough chore for the following 40 minutes.

Kristin Ryan shot wide of the net in the first minute after intermission. She missed a second attempt nine minutes later when Ryan’s foot failed to connect with the ball.

At the midway point of the final period, Moore bailed her teammates out with a pair of
back-to-back saves. Paul scored on a penalty kick for the final score when Herrera was tripped by a Grand Junction defender in the penalty area.

Reach Phil Sandoval at psandoval@gjfreepress.