SEVEN SPRINGS – Junior Jackie Medina-Leal poured in a ‘Hat Trick’ plus 2 of 5 goals and also tallied 2 assists Monday night to lead East Bladen to a 9-1 non-conference girls’ soccer victory over Spring Creek.
Coach Jay Raynor’s Lady Eagles improved to 3-0-1 and will host East Columbus Tuesday night. Spring Creek, now 1-5, will visit Southern Wayne Friday night.
Medina-Leal scored early then knocked in another goal for a 2-0 lead. “Jackie had a career night and played great soccer,” stated Raynor. “We had some great combination play with her and Heidi (Rebollar) working the right side.”
East Bladen outshot the Lady Gators 24-3. “We were much more efficient in our attack tonight and looked much more comfortable when we had the ball,” noted Raynor.
Spring Creek trimmed the margin to 2-1 off a corner kick. “We gave up a corner and we were organized,” said Raynor. “They hit a ball that went to the back post. We did a fantastic job of watching it and not communicating, and they scored a great goal. We didn’t give Reese (Hester) a chance to make a save. That was a mental lapse and we just weren’t switched on.”
Raynor continued, “Outside of that chance, they didn’t really threaten us the rest of the game. Reese in goal and the backs of Gabby (Rebollar), Marlee (Potter), and Macey (Potter) really do a fantastic job of shutting down promising attacks.” Hester had 3 saves in goal.
Senior Molly Evans scored to pad the lead to 3-1 off a Medina-Leal assist. “Molly wasn’t 100% but gave a huge effort for us,” stated Raynor. “Molly is great on 50/50 balls and is a natural scorer when she can get into the box. Molly knows where to be, and Jackie was able to find her.”
Senior Heidi Rebollar fired in 2 goals and dished out 3 assists for the Lady Eagles. Zoe (Smith) and Heidi helped us control midfield,” said Raynor. “Heidi and her ability to serve a ball into our wingers or over the top to Nene (Ward) or Leah (McGill) really opened the game up for us. Zoe has played her entire career in the back for us but she is shifty and great on the ball for us coming out of midfield.”
Junior Iveonna “NeNe” Ward was credited with an assist on a 1st half goal. “Nene’s speed and her desire to want to beat her defender caused Spring Creek trouble all night,” said Raynor. “She may not have scored but she was very much involved in our goals that were scored.”
“Anna (Miranda) and ‘KK’ had great performances for us in midfield,” noted Raynor. “They both looked much more comfortable and got better as the game went on. Leah (McGill) played numerous positions for us tonight. Leah has really improved her touch and understanding of the game. We were able to use her up as well as drop her into midfield.”
“This was a great result for us,” stated Raynor. “It was a physical match for spells but I believe us settling into what we needed to changed that. It was a good test in many ways. We had to adjust to the physical game, had to mentally refocus after giving up a goal on a set piece, and we had to finish off the game after having a solid lead at halftime.”
Raynor concluded, “We grew in a lot of ways tonight. We were also able to get everyone playing time and plenty of it. We can only get better if everyone is playing and getting experience. Our starters did a great job of making sure they did their jobs and got their teammates on the field.”
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