Iroquois scored once in the games first two minutes, then added another tally in the final two minutes to take sole possession of second place in the region with a 2-0 win at Eisenhower Wednesday.

“It’s frustrating,” Eisenhower coach Diana Elmquist said. “We’re controlling possession. We’ve just got to finish better.”

At 1:28, the Braves’ McKenzie Smith took a shot from well outside the left corner of the box. Lady Knights keeper Faith Johnson appeared to have the ball squared, but it skitted past her and into the right corner for a 1-0 Iroquois lead.

“It was just one of those things,” Elmquist said.

Times Observer photo by Brian Hagberg Eisenhower’s Aleea Giese (7) fires the ball past Iroquois’ Jules Moore-Watson (18) during the first half of their match at Eisenhower High School, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. The Braves earned a hard-fought, 2-0, win over the Knights.

Iroquois (6-3 overall, 3-1 Region 3) coaches were yelling at their players to just keep shooting because the soggy field conditions were creating awkward bounces.

“The field is a mucky mess,” Elmquist said. “Some of the girls described it like being in a cartoon where the character is running with their feet but not going anywhere.”

The Braves maintained possession after that early goal, but once Eisenhower (3-5, 2-2) settled in the Lady Knights were able to gain control and start attacking.

Eisenhower had a couple runs late in the first half, but could only generate some sharp angle shots.

The Lady Knights’ first quality chances came in the opening minutes of the second half. Aleea Giese, Caroline Smelko, Leah Peterson and Lydia Giannini got some runs into the box, but the shots either sailed wide or went right to keeper Olyvia Lozano’s hands.

Times Observer photo by Brian Hagberg Eisenhower’s Aniela Gesing (8) throws in to teammate Caroline Smelko (17) late in the first half of a match against Iroquois at Eisenhower High School, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018.

“We’re making short passes to feet and controlling well,” Elmquist said. “We’re just not getting it to the back of the net. Once we put both of those together, when we get back to that, we’ll be golden.”

Down a goal and trying to push for more scoring chances late in the game, the Lady Knights turned the ball over near midfield. Iroquois got a throw from just above the right corner. The ball went to center, but got caught in a pair of defender’s feet. Courtney Kegerreis came up behind the defense, picked the ball out and fired it to the short side for a 2-0 Braves advantage with just 1:34 to play.

Despite the setback, Elmquist likes what she’s seen from her team at the midpoint of the season.

“Our objective as a team (for the second half), and this is coming from the girls, is to add depth to our bench,” she said. “We want to have more strong subs throughout the second half. We’re getting there. We’ve already brought a lot of people up.”

The Lady Knights are back in action Tuesday when they travel to Maplewood.

Times Observer photo by Brian Hagberg Eisenhower keeper Faith Johnson (4) dives on top of a loose ball in front of the net during the first half of a match against Iroquois at Eisenhower High School, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. The Braves defeated the Knights, 2-0.