LUMBERTON – Freshman Gabby Rebollar fired in the game-deciding goal midway the 2nd half that lifted East Bladen to a 1-0 non-conference girls’ soccer victory over Lumberton Friday night.
“Gabby hit a ball on her first touch from 25 yards out that deflected off the heel of a defender and found the back of the net,” described Lady Eagle Coach Jay Raynor. “ The keeper was playing the shot and the deflection took the shot in the opposite direction of the keeper.”
According to Raynor the wind was a big factor in the game. “Both teams got their better looks going against the wind,” he said. “The game was even for both sides. I thought we had some of the better chances in the first half and Lumberton had the better chances in the second.”
Both teams had 6 shots in the 1st half. For the game East Bladen outshot Lumberton 15-11.
“Proud of our play on the defensive side of the ball,” stated Raynor. “It was our second game and our second shutout. At times it wasn’t pretty, but the girls made the plays they needed to make to keep them in the game.”
Junior Reese Hester recorded 7 saves in goal for the Lady Eagles. “Our backs did a great job of shutting down their attacks,” noted Raynor. “Anna Miranda, Molly Evans, and Gabby did a great job tonight. Both ladies made several key stops deep in our attacking third. We can attribute those stops to Reese and Zoe (Smith) with their communication as well as understanding of the system.”
Raynor continued, “Acee (Campbell) was great for us in the midfield tonight. I thought at times we asked a lot of her. We are still learning the system and movements from midfield up. At times Acee had little or no support but still made key stops as well as initiated our attack.”
“Heidi (Rebollar) did great at attacking midfield and was able to pick the ball up and make runs to get our attack started,” said Raynor. “She has great range with her passes and shooting ability. The wind was a huge factor but Heidi was still able to provide us with some dangerous opportunities in our attack.”
Raynor added, “Jackie Medina, Nene (Ward), and Molly made several solid runs at goal tonight. We are getting looks and showed improvement from Tuesday. It’s going to take a little time to adjust to the system and new positions. We had the pleasure of playing a certain way the last several years. We can still do that, it’s just going to take us knowing exactly what’s expected from every position, every run, and every pass made.”
“We went deeper tonight off the bench,” said Raynor. “We are pretty young but have some girls that will get after it. Macy Potter was the spark we needed early in the first half. Macy hasn’t been practicing at forward, but she competes and battles in training. We needed that on the frontline and that’s exactly what she brought. Macy was aggressive and made some plays. She was up top but that’s the play we need. No playing dirty but rather working hard to try and make something happen. Leah (McGill) brought the same energy as Macy. They both gave us a spark when we needed them throughout the match.”
Raynor concluded, “Cydney (Campbell), Eliana (Padilla), and Kaelyn Eason gave us big minutes at winger tonight. They all got better as the game went on. I’m proud of the girls and our improvement. It’s about the details and we got most of the things we wanted to correct. We will continue to polish things up and build on this week.”
The Lady Eagles, now 1-0-1, will travel to New Hanover Tuesday at 6 p.m.
About Author
