TABOR CITY – Senior Maya McDonald scored the 100th and 101st goals of her East Bladen career Friday night and led East Bladen to a 4-2 victory over South Columbus in the non-conference girls soccer season opener for the Lady Eagles.
McDonald opened the scoring 29 seconds into the game when she took a pass from Iveonna “NeNe” Ward, beat the backline and slipped the ball past the keeper.
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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
In the 12th minute McDonald stretched the lead to 2-0 blasting a shot into the back of the net off of an assist from freshman Anna Miranda.
“Maya was unbelievable,” said Lady Eagle Coach Jay Raynor about his star who just finished basketball season Tuesday night. “She looked in midseason form. Putting us up two goals that early is what we needed. That took the pressure off of our young girls and allowed us some room to grow into the game.”
Raynor added, “For her to score her 100th and 101st goals in the time she has is remarkable. Maya loves to compete and that is something that I am hoping rubs off on every one of our girls.”
In the 17th minute Miranda cracked the scoring column off of a corner kick from sophomore Heidi Rebollar. “Heidi played a perfect ball into the back post, and Anna took it out of the air and put it in the net,” said Raynor. “It was a great ball and excellent finish.”
East Bladen outshot the Lady Stallions 8-2 in the first half. “We had several that just missed and forced their keeper to make plays,” noted Raynor.
In the 61st minute, South converted a penalty kick after a foul was called on a loose ball in the 18-yard box.
In the 74th minute Ward converted a pass from McDonald into a goal that grew the lead to 4-1. “It was a great through ball played from Maya and NeNe calmly finished it past the keeper,” said Raynor.
South trimmed the final margin to 4-2 with a goal on a shot from 16 yards out in the 75th minute. “They caught us on our heels for the last goal,” stated Raynor. “We stabbed and didn’t step to pressure the ball. It was their only run of play goal.”
Raynor continued, “Reese (Hester) did a phenomenal job in goal for us tonight. She made 6 saves and was a leader. She looked extremely confident and did all that we asked her to do and some.”
“It was a tale of two halves,” said Raynor. “We came out and put it on South. Going up three goals in the first seventeen minutes is the ideal start. We were flying around and making plays. Pressuring the ball and forcing South to make tough plays.”
Raynor added, “At halftime I thought they did a better job motivating their girls. South came out and upped their level of play as well as physicality. We seemed to get caught on our heels and taking what they gave us. The good thing about that is, we bent but didn’t break.”
The shot count was even 5-5 in the second half. East Bladen held a 5-2 edge in corners for the game.
“A 4-2 decision with our youth against a very good experienced team was a great win,” noted Raynor. “We have some experience but are having to replace huge holes left from our seniors last year.”
“Heidi was great for us,” said Raynor. “The goal was to come in and adhere to a game plan. She did just that. I moved her out of position and challenged her to take on South’s best player. Heidi, a sophomore, was going against a senior who has signed to play college soccer. Heidi limited her and won just about all their duels. Heidi’s service on corners and during our attack was exactly what we needed.”
Raynor added, “Zoe (Smith), Molly (Evans), and Merritt (Martin) worked well as a unit and played well for us. Having those three back and playing together is a huge plus. They have a lot of games under their belt together. That was our foundation for tonight that allowed us to do some different things in front of them.”
Jackie (Medina-Leal) had a great game,” shared Raynor. “She’s not a 100% but went hard and was a difference maker. Her ability on the ball is going to open things up for us going forward. Jackie and Heidi are capable of playing anywhere on the field. That is going to really help us when we get everyone healthy.”
Raynor continued, “Nene and Laila (Smith) were also very impressive. There was limited practice for both of them (coming from basketball) and they looked comfortable on the field. They both competed and helped us with our attack. Maya, Nene, and Laila across the top are tough to defend and that showed tonight.”
The Lady Eagle varsity will host Heide Trask Thursday at 5 p.m. The Lady Eagle jayvees will travel to East Duplin Monday for a 4:30 match then go to Pender Wednesday for another 4:30 JV match.
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