GASTONIA – Bladen County’s 10U Girls All-Stars finished 2nd in their pool and 3rd in the overall StateWide Activities Committee State Tournament Sunday.
In Sunday morning’s final game of bracket play against Wilson, Jackie Leal worked the ball down the field and scored a goal early in the first half. Leal then gained an assist by crossing the ball to Iveonna Ward who punched it in for a quick 2-0 lead. By halftime Wilson had rallied to tie the game 2-2.
In the second half, Ward nailed a shot from 15 yards out, but the goal was nullified by an offside call. “It was a very close and controversial call,” said Bladen Coach Mike Potter.
Later in the half, Jazmy Funez was making a strong run to goal about to score when the referee stopped the game thinking there were too many players on the field – a quick count confirmed there were not.
When play resumed Wilson stole the ball and scored the deciding goal shortly after to bring the final score to 3-2, but Bladen qualified for semi-final play with a 2-2 record after a pair of Saturday wins over Elkin and Belmont.
Bladen advanced to play Nash County in the semi-finals and held them to a 5-0 score. Nash had scored in double figures against most teams in the tournament.
“We were very proud of our 10U BC girls,” said Coach Potter. “They played their hearts out all weekend long, kept a terrific attitude and had a fun-filled experience in the beautiful western part of our state.”
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