Harrison Central Overwhelms Shorthanded Blue Eagles 8-0
Mike Hughes Trending
CADIZ--Harrison Central and Magnolia met on the turf in Cadiz on Tuesday night, each team thirsting for a win.
Similarly situated, the Huskies and Blue Eagles both are struggling at present with low numbers and experience.
It made the season a tough road for both, but the opportunity to grab a victory against a more evenly-matched opponent awaited at the end of 90 minutes. Harrison Central seized it.
Lily Gibbons scored four goals and added an assist and the Huskies limited the Blue Eagles to two shots on goal in an 8-0 victory.
"We were kind of hoping we could pull out a victory, but we weren’t sure," Harrison Central head coach Mindy Madzia said. "We knew we had to get it together to help the morale of this team, for sure. Even at halftime, they were like ‘let’s play better ball the second half and pass batter.’
"They knew what they had to go out to do."
That halftime conversation is far easier to have on the positive side of a 5-0 scoreboard as opposed to the opposite. Not that Magnolia ever gave up or quit trying.
The visitors arrived in Cadiz with exactly 11 players. The game started 11 v. 11 but quickly altered as first Autumn Wright went down with an injury, followed by Charlotte Moore.
Soon the Eagles were playing with nine until later when Moore was able to get back out onto the field.
As the game progressed and the result seemed less and less in doubt for the hosts, Madzia opted to swap a lot of her players, moving forward to the back and allowing primary defenders an opportunity to play up front and potentially score.
Gibbons had four goals, but four others finished with one apiece, including Emma Patterson, Zoe Williamson, Kendal Hercules, and Halei Sweeney.
"I wanted to get everybody an opportunity to get up front and have the chance to potentially score," Madzia admitted.
Lily Smith finished with two saves to preserve the shutout as the sophomore stepped in for regular starter Vanessa Dowdle, who had a family engagement she couldn’t get out of and was unable to play.
"She did a nice job and finished with a couple of saves, but she’s very vocal on the field and does a great job," Madzia noted.
Smith appeared a seasoned keeper, calling out potential problems as they developed and assisting her defenders despite not experiencing a lot of work herself.
Her counterpart, Josy Nice meanwhile, was quite busy as Harrison unleashed 34 shots toward the Eagles’ keeper. To her credit, Nice turned away 26 shots, including a few impressive stops.
The Huskies hit the road Thursday, traveling down Ohio 9 to face rival St. Clairsville at Red Devils Stadium.