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Second-round soccer roundup
Dixon wins 8-0; Richlands wins 3-1
ROCKY POINT - Alex Scott turned in a hat trick as Dixon continued its march through the NCHSAA 1-A playoffs with an easy 8-0 win at Heidi Trask on Saturday.
Scott had plenty of help as eight of her teammates joined her with either a goal or assist as the Bulldogs, a wild card from the Coastal Plains Conference, improved to 14-3-2.
Kara May Rice and Chelsea D'Zurilla each chipped in with a goal and two assists, while Jordan Evans added a goal and assist. Jaime Edens and Chelsea McClintock also had goals for the Bulldogs, while Jenna Paramore had two assists and Amber Reid one.
Shennelle Johnson and Lesleigh Thompson shared time in goal but had little action since their teammates outshot Trask 37-0.
The win sets up a showdown in the third round at Raleigh Charter either Tuesday or Wednesday. It was Charter that dismissed the Bulldogs from the playoffs a year ago with a win in the Eastern final.
"It's a huge game," said Dixon head coach Kevin Hicks. "Last year it was an extremely competitive game in the Eastern finals. They just finished their chances and we didn't.
"They were a strong team a year ago and they are strong again. They have been the No. 1-ranked team in 1A for the last two months so we know they will be good."
However, Hicks thinks his Bulldogs are also a pretty confident bunch.
"We think we are pretty strong, too," he added. "You know, a lot of high school students play their whole careers and never get an opportunity to play in a game of this magnitude. We are obviously looking forward to it."
He thought that the win on Saturday was a good tuneup.
"I thought we played pretty well and a lot of people scoring like that is always good," said Hicks. "We actually shot the ball pretty well on frame in the first half. We played a lot of people and we moved the ball well."
Trask was the top seed from the Waccamaw Conference.
Swansboro 7 1 - 8
Trask 0 0 - 0
GOALS - S: Scott 3, Edens, Evans, D'Zurilla, Rice, McClintock. ASSISTS - D: Rice 2, D'Zurilla 2, Paramore 2, Reid, Evans. IN GOAL - D: Johnson, Thompson. SHOTS ON GOAL - D 37, T 0. CORNER KICKS - D 5, T 0. RECORDS - D: 14-3-2 at Raleigh Charter TBA; T: 7-13, season complete.
Richlands 3, North Lenoir 1: At LaGrange, Richlands' offense stayed aggressive throughout the game and the Wildcats came away with a victory over North Lenoir in the second round of the NCHSAA 2-A playoffs.
Ashley Anctil, Megan Hahne and Hope Manghane each scored a goal for the Wildcats, the second seed from the East Central 2-A Conference. Anctil also dished out a pair of assists as Richlands played ball control, which limited North Lenoir, top seed from the Eastern Plains Conference, to only one shot.
Brooke Catanzaratio added an assist.
Richlands will travel to First Flight in the third round.
Jordan Hudson scored for NLHS while teammate Megan Johnson had nine saves.
Richlands 1 2 - 3
North Lenoir 0 1 - 1
GOALS - RHS: Anctil, Hahne, Manghane. NL: Hudson. ASSISTS - RHS: Catanzaratio, Anctil 2. IN GOAL - RHS: Manghane (0 saves) and Hannah Denning (0 saves). NL: Johnson (9 saves) and Ranelle Dudley (2 saves). SHOTS ON GOAL - RHS 15, NL 1. CORNER KICKS - RHS 6, NL 1. RECORDS - RHS: 15-6-2, at First Flight in third round. NL: 13-4, season complete.
South Brunswick 1, Croatan 0: At Southport, Croatan found itself on the other side of a 1-0 decision.
The Cougars allowed a goal by South Brunswick's Kelly Taylor with 30 seconds left in the second 10-minute overtime session and Croatan fell in the second round of the NCHSAA 2-A playoffs.
South Brunswick's Alexandra Young had delivered a wide shot, but Taylor was there to make slight contact with the ball and her leg to allow it to dribble into the back of the net.
Head coach Paul Slater and his Cougars, a wild card from the East Central 2-A Conference, entered off a 1-0 upset over league foe Southwest on Wednesday. Only this time Croatan mustered just five shots on goal and Taylor eventually found the net. South Brunswick is the top seed from the Waccamaw Conference.
"I am proud of the girls, we came together and became a team," said Slater. "It was a disappointing way to lose, but the whole season we grew into a team.
"In our last nine games we went 7-2 so we really pulled together."
Leilani Gauta made eight saves for the Broad Creek-based Cougars, who yielded 13 shots on frame. Jackie Staab did a fine job of defending Young, SBHS' leading scorer, while Audrey Gould also contributed on defense.
"Jackie is one we used to match-up with people because she is the most physical and the biggest defender we have," Slater said. "We try to use her to mark people while Audrey does a good job too."
Croatan 0 0 0 0 - 0
South Brunswick 0 0 0 1 - 1
GOALS - SB: Taylor. ASSISTS - SB: Young. IN GOAL -C: Gauta (8 saves). SB: Kat Adams (1 save). SHOTS ON GOAL - C 5, SB 13. CORNER KICKS - C 1, SB 5. RECORDS - C: 11-10-1, season complete. SB: 18-4-1, hosts Swansboro Wednesday in third round.
