PELLA — After a scoreless first half, Grace Coates (junior, Marion, Linn-Mar HS) broke the game open with a second-half brace to give Central a 2-0 win over St Mary's College (Ind.) Friday afternoon.
           
The win was Central's first in fall opener since 2019. The Dutch (1-0) outshot the Belles (0-1) by just 13-11 margin but got the two they needed to win.
           
"It's a testament to our team," coach Mike Kobylinski said. "We challenged them at the half because we felt we could have scored a goal or two in the first 45 minutes. We came out in the second half and showed our quality."
           
Coates struck first in the 54th minute on an assist from Kaitlyn Isom (senior, Chandler Ariz., Horizon Honors) and then scored again three minutes later with a pass from Paige Cahill (senior, Castle Rock, Colo., Castle View HS).
           
"Isom's ball to Grace was phenomenal, a one-time left-footed peg over the top of the center back," Kobylinski said. "Paige was able to get in behind and there's a reason she led the league in assists last year."
           
The opening day lineup for Central featured a trio of newcomers. Freshman goalkeeper Zoey Sizemore (freshman, Omaha, Neb., Mercy HS) got the win. Sophomore transfer Katy Brown (St. Charles, Mo., Orchard Farm HS) and freshman Alli Seegers (Waverly, Waverly-Shell Rock HS) also started in the back row.
           
"We played almost everyone today," Kobylinski said. "It was a total team effort. We've got a big match tomorrow but we had to take care of today."
           
The Dutch are back on the pitch Saturday for a home match against Hope College (Mich.) at 2 p.m.