SPENCER — West Rowan and Salisbury couldn’t have asked for better opening-night performances in the Rowan County girls soccer tournament.
The top-seeded Falcons used South Rowan as a chew toy in a 10-0 semifinal rout Tuesday night. And the Hornets played stone-cold defense and scored a pair of second-half goals to knock off host North Rowan, 2-0, in the other semi.
West and Salisbury — last year’s finalists — will square off for the championship at 7 p.m. Thursday.
“The main thing, no matter who our opponent is, we have play our game,” first-year West coach Rich Erdman said after gaining his first career victory. “We did that and pretty much had our way tonight.”
West received two goals apiece from Lauren Duffy, Pam Miri, Angela Cruz and Allison Ruff in what quickly became a mismatch. The Falcons scored five times in each half, beginning with Duffy’s goals at 13 and 18 minutes.
“I think we actually came out cold,” said Duffy, who added two assists. “We couldn’t break through for the first few minutes. Once we got the lead we took control and did everything we wanted to.”
South coach Chris Walters felt a stiff wind gave West a huge first-half advantage. “The coin toss killed us,” he said. “If we had won that, they wouldn’t have been able to jump on us like they did.”
West also received a first-half goal from senior Jessica Matthews, who headed a ball past South keeper Ashley Ashcroft-Billings and provided a 4-0 lead. Teammate Lauren Bucher also scored on a right-side blast midway through the second half.
“We played a good positional game,” said Erdman. “What’s important is not so much the number of goals we scored, it was the girls recognizing they had to cover the field. They played as well off the ball as they did with it.”
“They knew what to do with it,” added Walters. “They crossed the ball, they switched fields, they had good trapping skills. And once they started scoring on us, we just broke. I thought we’d be more competitive than that.”
n
At least one of coach Jennifer Shoaf’s preseason questions was answered in Salisbury’s triumph. “We were a little uncertain where the goals were going to come from,” she said after the Hornets peppered North’s net with 31 shots-at-goal. “After tonight, we’re starting to have an idea.”
Salisbury’s first score came eight minutes into the second half, when Amber Wingerson pounded a 20-yard shot from the right side that deflected off a North defender, changed direction and skipped past junior keeper Brittany Osborne.
“It kind of tricked me,” Osborne said after playing a sharp game and making six saves. “But that’s how it went. They kept me on my toes the whole time.”
Wingerson, who was credited with the goal, seemed happy just to convert. “I really didn’t think it was going in,” she said. “I just ripped it and was hoping to get it near the goal. Most of my shots weren’t even close.”
Salisbury added an insurance goal when Brittany Branson sent a goal-mouth cross to forward Anna Glasgow, who headed a shot past Osborne in the game’s final minute.
“The ball kept popping back out somehow,” said Glasgow. “Then Brittany gave me a nice little arch pass from the left side and I knocked it in.”
Shoaf was quick to praise Hornets’ keeper Courtney DeSorbo (7 seven saves), defender Brynn Dailey — who effectively neutralized North forward Natalie Cameron — as well as backliners Jennifer Bauk, Tonya Fox and Stephanie Butner.
Afterward, even North coach Vincent Connolly had to tip his cap to Salisbury. “I think the better team won without much of a problem,” he said. “They’re quick, fast and strong. I think the pace of the game scared us a bit. This was a lot more intense than what our girls have seen in practice.”
n
NOTES: South (1-1), which beat East Rowan in Monday’s play-in match, and North will meet in the consolation game at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Today's News
