WILMINGTON – New Hanover scored 3 1st half goals to defeat East Bladen 3-0 Tuesday night in non-conference girls’ soccer action.
A disputed penalty kick call in the 12th minute of play gave the Lady Wildcats an early lead. “Anna Miranda has been playing extremely well for us and has been coming up some tough defensive tackles and stops,” said East Bladen Coach Jay Raynor. “She stepped in front of a hard hit shot from just outside the 18 and blocked it with her shoulder. From my angle it looked like it was just inside her shoulder/chest and even Anna said the same.
“The referee explained it differently,” stated Raynor. “He determined that she made herself bigger while stopping a goal scoring opportunity. Tough call to make but the way it was explained, I can see his interpretation even though I don’t agree with it.”
New Hanover tacked on another goal 7 minutes later and stretched the lead to 3-0 just before halftime. The Lady Wildcats outshot the Lady Eagles 8-3.
Raynor continued, “Our girls didn’t hang their heads and kept playing. Acee (Campbell) and Jackie (Medina) had great games in midfield for us. New Hanover played a different style than what we have faced this season and we had to make some adjustments at halftime.
“We had more of an attack and had more of a presence in midfield during the second half,”noted Raynor. “I attribute that to our two seniors, Acee and Cydney (Campbell). Those two were vocal leaders. They kept the girls locked into the system and the tactical adjustments. That was a big task considering we had up to 4 freshman and some other inexperienced players on the field at a given time.”
Heidi Rebollar started in goal for East and had 4 saves in the 1st half. “Macy Potter made an impact again tonight,” stated Raynor. “She earned the starting spot up top then moved around to several positions. Her energy and aggression really sets the tone. Two other freshman that had big nights were Gabby Rebollar and Simone Blanks. We were able to utilize Gabby in goal. She was unsure of herself but came up with 4 big saves while playing a total of 50 minutes. She did great in the net.”
Raynor added, “Simone worked extremely hard and is coming around. She looked the most comfortable tonight she has all year. Jackie and Heidi did well for us in midfield. Their understanding of the game as well as their technical ability are what drives our attack. I thought we made progress on the attacking side of the ball tonight. Our defending also improved. We pressed better collectively up top and did well in the back. Zoe Smith and Molly Evans had good performances for us in the back.
“I was proud of the girls tonight,” said Raynor. “We experienced adversity in just about every possible way and the girls stayed the course. We were quieter than I think we should be and slow to push up or step to balls but that can be expected when things are different than they usually are.”
Raynor concluded, “We are comfortable being comfortable. We get used to people being around us or get used to playing a certain way. What tonight showed us is that if it can happen it will happen. We didn’t get emotional and stayed the course. We have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. We played extremely well in the second half. It’s something we will build off of and get better.
“I am proud of the girls for their effort and the way handled the adjustments we made,” said Raynor. “To hold them scoreless for the second half (the last 47 minutes of the match) speaks to the girls effort and desire to defend.”
The Lady Eagles, now 1-1-1, will host Whiteville Thursday at 5 p.m.
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