ELIZABETHTOWN – Junior Kenzy Yang fired in a ‘Hat Trick’ of 3 goals and senior Anna Perry Sinclair added 2 goals to lead unbeaten Clinton to a 7-0 Southeastern Athletic Conference girls’ soccer victory over East Bladen Tuesday night.
“The girls put forth a tremendous effort tonight,” said East Coach Jay Raynor. “I was extremely proud of not only their effort but their ability to adhere to our game plan as well as their belief in each other.
Raynor continued, “Games like this are hard mentally and physically. Playing Clinton tests not only your athletic ability but also your grit and your character. I was impressed with how our girls battled but also how they handled themselves. The girls were challenged in many aspects tonight and all adhered to every one of our core values.”
Clinton scored in the 6th minute and again 25 minutes later to take a 2-0 halftime lead. “The girls did an excellent job of taking their marks,” noted Raynor. “I thought we were extremely disciplined and adhered to our game plan and the system.”
“Gabby (Rebollar) did an excellent job and did not play like a freshman at all,” stated Raynor. “Clinton’s attacking patterns are hard to defend. The movements of their forwards, midfielders, and wingers combined at the pace they like to move the ball… it’s a tough task for anyone. Our girls did an excellent job tonight negating those patterns.”
“Reese (Hester) had a great night in goal with 8 saves and made the saves she should’ve made,” said Raynor. “Our backs of Molly (Evans), Zoe (Smith), Anna (Miranda), and Gabby did a great job of jumping passes and getting in passing lanes. They all also did a great job of picking up the correct runners / marks. Those girls sacrifice and made numerous plays to turn Clinton away from our goal area or shut down a possible scoring chance.”
Raynor continued, “Nene (Ward), Eliana (Padilla), and Jackie (Medina-Leal) were our attacking threats tonight. Nene turned it up and I thought she was great on and off the ball. She used her body well and battled. Jackie reads the game well and is a great number 10. Tonight we wanted to sit in pockets and counter. Jackie did just that and made us dangerous going forward. Eli came off the bench and made an instant impact. Eli is playing more freely and generated some attacks for us going forward.”
Clinton scored 5 goals in the second half. “Three off of corners and 2 off misplays in our area,” noted Raynor. “As the game went on you could see fatigue start to sit in, mentally and physically. Clinton capitalized on our mistakes. We continued to work but the work dropped, communication was quieter, and we started making individual plays which went away from our game plan.”
Raynor added, “Macy (Potter) and Cydney (Campbell) did great jobs of locking down their wingers and limiting their chances. Those ladies battled all night and never once back down. Cyd was tested in numerous ways and I am extremely proud of her character as well her positive attitude.
“Heidi (Rebollar) and Acee (Campbell) dominated the middle,” said Raynor. “Those two girls left it all on the field. We made it difficult for them at times, forcing them to cover a lot of ground. Those two battled and didn’t back down.”
Raynor concluded, “This was the first time that I can remember that we haven’t been mercy ruled by Clinton. We competed. We forced them to adapt to us. We negated almost all they wanted to do (corner kicks being the exception). They changed their system to counter what we organized and our system. Those all are wins. I hope we continue to evolve and build on this game. There were numerous positive things that happened tonight.”
East Bladen, now 2-1 in the SAC-7 and 4-2-1 overall, will travel to South Columbus Wednesday for a 5 p.m. game.
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