ELIZABETHTOWN – Junior Iveonna “NeNe” Ward fired in a ‘Hat Trick’ of 3 goals to lead her East Bladen Lady Eagles to a 9-0 victory over Cape Hatteras Monday night in the opening round of the NCHSAA Class 1A Girls’ Soccer Playoffs.
Coach Jay Raynor’s Lady Eagles, the No. 6 seed in the 1A East, improved to 14-2-2 and will host No. 11 seed Roxboro Community (10-4) – an 11-2 winner over Jones Senior – Thursday in the 2nd round. Cape Hatteras concluded their season with a 3-13-1 record.
Junior Jackie Medina-Leal knocked in an unassisted goal 1:12 into the game for a quick East Bladen lead. “The girls played well,” noted Raynor. “We started early and put the pressure on Cape Hatteras. Jackie getting her goal on the board in under two minutes set the tone.”
Raynor continued, “It’s the playoffs and I’m sure the girls were anxious and nervous. Scoring and scoring that early into the game allowed them to gain some confidence and put the emotions to the side. Our energy from the start was good. When Jackie scored, the way the girls celebrated said a lot. They all were locked in and were a true team today. Everyone was involved and did their part.”
The floodgates opened as the Lady Eagles scored 5 more goals in a 9-minute span. Ward knocked in her 1st goal off an assist from Medina-Leal with 29:53 left in the half. Two minutes later senior Eliana Padilla banged in a goal off an assist from junior Anna Miranda. Five minutes later Miranda drilled in an unassisted goal to grow the lead to 4-0.
Less than a minute later Medina-Leal found the back of the net with her 2nd goal off a feed from senior Heidi Rebollar. With 20:31 on the 1st half clock, Ward delivered her 2nd goal off another Medina-Leal assist.
“NeNe and Jackie have really gotten on the same page lately,” said Raynor. “Jackie has been creating chances for us with her service. NeNe has been able to get on the end of those crosses. NeNe as well as Molly (Evans) attacked the ball well tonight on those crosses in the box.”
Raynor added, “The play of Heidi, Jackie, Anna, Eli out of midfield tonight was exceptional. They made great decisions on and off the ball. Anna and Eli are both holding midfielders… they both scored and were involved in numerous attacks. That says a lot. Speaks volumes for our performance on the ball that allowed them to get forward and into dangerous areas.”
East Bladen outshot the Lady Hurricanes 18-2. Medina-Leal racked up 2 goals and dished out 3 assists. Padilla scored 2 goals, and Heidi Rebollar was credited with 2 assists. Miranda finished with a goal and an assist, and sophomore Macy Potter had an assist.
“The ball moved well for us tonight,” said Raynor. “The girls were able to get Gabby (Rebollar) involved in our attacks. Both Gabby and Heidi are threats from distance. Their shots created chances for us.”
Cape Hatteras sent an ‘own goal’ into their net to stretch the East lead to 7-0 with 8 minutes left in the half. Padilla pounded in her 2nd goal 45 seconds later off an assist from Heidi Rebollar. Ward recorded her ‘Hat Trick’ with a goal 5:24 before halftime off assists from Medina-Leal and Macy Potter.
“Everyone being locked in gave us different looks and I thought made us difficult to defend,” stated Raynor. “The girls were getting in behind their backline, taking shots from distance, and slowing the game down to get extra players in the attack… that’s hard to defend. It kept the game on Cape Hatteras end of the field.”
“Our backs didn’t have to do a lot,” observed Raynor. “Leah (McGill) cleaned up a few counter attacks on her side of the field. The communication in the back was solid tonight.”
The game was stopped by the mercy rule at halftime.
“We were fortunate tonight,” said Raynor. “Their second free kick was taken quick and I’m not sure we were prepared for it. Transitions have been an area we have talked about getting better. In the playoffs, there isn’t any down time. You have to remain switched on and we didn’t during that set piece. The shot hit off the crossbar and we cleared it out.”
Raynor concluded, “Proud of the girls and their performance. You want to win and get to the second round but with a lead like that you want to also respect your opponent. Our girls conducted themselves well. They played hard and the ball found the back of the net. They shared the ball and the score line shows it. We were great teammates tonight and played hard for each other. We were able to get everyone in the game to get some playoff experience and they is always good.”
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