03/29/2024
Spread the love

TEACHEY – Sophmore Ashley Hardin and senior Justyna Gargala combined for 3 goals and 4 assists to spark East Bladen to a 5-1 Four County Conference girls soccer victory over Wallace-Rose Hill Thursday night.

Hardin dished out 3 assists and scored one goal, while Gargala fired in 2 goals and delivered one assist. Junior Hannah Devane was credited with 2 assists, and freshman Patience Ward added one goal and one assist.

In the tenth minute, Ward put the Lady Eagles on the board with a goal that sailed over the keeper and into the corner at the far post. “Patience beat the left back, got into open space and hit a hard shot from 20 yards out,” said East Bladen Coach Jay Raynor. “She plays so hard, and it was good to see her get a goal.”

Wallace-Rose Hill tied the game 1-1 off a corner kick 8 minutes later. “We had marked up and had the corner covered but didn’t move or communicate once the ball was put in play,” said Raynor. “They played a hard pass into the 18 and hit a one-time shot low that Ting (Lin) was unable to make a play on. We didn’t communicate well and that left her out to dry.”

Moments later Hardin was fouled from about 30 yards out. Hardin lined up and blasted a high hard shot that beat the keeper and put the Lady Eagles up 2-1 at halftime.

“We talked about our spacing and communication at halftime,” added Raynor. “We were playing well but conceding a lot of space between our midfield and backline. They were able to take advantage of that a few times and made runs at our goal. Reducing that space as well as better communication prevented those runs in the second half.”

In the third minute of the second half, Gargala took a feed from Hardin and knocked in a goal to stretch the East lead to 3-1. “It was a gorgeous goal,” noted Raynor. “Our energy really picked up and that goal early in the second half put a lot of pressure on them and shifted the momentum. We kept the pressure on them and dominated the game from that point.”

Sophmore Sarah Johnson connected on a left footed shot from just inside the 18 ten minutes later. Gargala tallied her second goal midway the second half. “She stole the ball and had a hard right-footed finish low into the net,” said Coach Raynor.

“This was the most physical game that we have played this year,” stated Raynor. “Wallace-Rose Hill is a big team and extremely aggressive. They had no issue being physical or winning 50/50 balls. I think that as well as the 25 minute delay for the officials threw our focus off a bit. We were a completely a different team in the second half. If we play that way in the first half we probably control the entire 80 minutes. Regardless of what happens we must remain focused and stick to our philosophy and game plan.”

East Bladen outshot Wallace-Rose Hill 28-3 and goalkeeper Lin made two first-half saves.

“The girls played some of the best soccer I have seen them play,” said Raynor. “Our pressure up top penned them back which opened up the midfield and allowed Ashley and Lexi (Mendell) to win a majority of the balls played into that area. We made some great combinations with our passing and seemed to always have girls getting in the box and to the back post on our shots.”

Raynor praised the play of Hardin and Mendell, “Ash and Lexi played well tonight. Both played very physical games and won a majority of their match-ups in midfield. It seemed like we were winning every ball that came into their area.”

“Maddie West was a huge factor for us in the second half,” continued Coach Raynor. “We moved her to holding midfield, and she killed it. She has been playing much more physical and playing with determination. She did a phenomenal job. Balls that would squirt out or beat our midfield that she picked up and played out wide or into our forwards.”

“Justyna had a good game and made some big plays,” added Raynor. “She seemed to play loose and looked very comfortable on the field. Her play was solid tonight. Hannah also played a solid game. WRH used their speed to match up against her which caused her some issues. She was able to make a few moves and play great balls into our attacking third. I know she was frustrated that she didn’t score but she assisted on 2 of the 5 goals and hit the crossbar.”

“Playing 3 forwards and a strong midfield always allows us to put a lot of pressure on teams,” said Coach Raynor. “We had four different goal-scorers tonight and have had six girls score so far this year. The girls are unselfish and have no problem putting others in position to score. They are putting it all together.”

Raynor concluded, “We were able to give our younger girls some minutes and rest some of our starters. Cybil (Campbell) and Gracyn (Martin) are getting good minutes and are contributing every time they are in the game. Cassidy (Davis) and Trinity (Carroll) had a great second half, and Ting wasn’t forced to make any saves in the second half.”

East Bladen improves to 3-1 in conference play and 7-1 overall and will host Clinton Monday at 6 p.m.

About Author