Despite playing without two starters in the match, Avery's talent and skill was simply too much for an overmatched Erwin squad, as the Lady Vikings took a 7-1 victory to run its consecutive games won/tied streak to 12 games.
Senior Katie Peters started the scoring frenzy with a goal in the 18th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later Melinda Eggers found the back of the net with a helper from Peters to push Avery ahead by a pair of goals. Just three minutes elapsed before Avery scored again, this time Rachel Buchanan provided the assist on Peters' second goal of the half. Avery was not finished scoring for the half, however, as Peters earned a hat trick before intermission, scoring off a Brianna Strange assist in the match's 37th minute for a 4-0 Avery halftime lead.
The Big Red continued to rain shots on the weary Erwin net-minder in the second half. Rachel Buchanan crossed a pass to Emily Banner in the 51st minute, who peeled a shot into the net for a five-goal advantage. Strange got into the scoring act for Avery two minutes later off yet another Buchanan touch.
A seventh and final goal scored came off the foot of Emily Banner who dribbled downfield on a breakaway and blasted a shot for a 7-0 lead. Avery used much of the half to move players to various positions on the field in preparation for future contests. Erwin remained aggressive to the end, preventing an Avery shutout in the 73rd minute on a goal by Haley Allen for the final scoring margin.
"The game gave us an opportunity to play a couple of freshmen more minutes than they've had to play for us in a game this season. We wanted to see how our chemistry would be with the new girls playing, and for the most part I felt like they did a good job," Coach Tom Evaul said after the win. "This game gave us a chance to play a lot of girls in a lot of different positions, because down the road we'll need to know what we've got."
Although the Lady Vikings have been dominant at times, the coaching staff knows there is still work to do for the team to be able to reach its ultimate goals for this year. "At times we were a little over-aggressive in the second half. We weren't being very patient and we were stabbing at the ball at times."
Avery gets some much needed rest before Wednesday evening's showdown at MacDonald Stadium with conference foe Hendersonville, one of only two teams to defeat the Lady Vikings this season as they upended the Big Red 3-0 in a match back on March 17th. The coaches see a couple of keys for the Lady Vikings to be successful in returning the favor and handing the Lady Bearcats a defeat.
"Their keeper plays as far up as near midfield, and we will need to be able have our back girls take shots. The number one thing we will have to do is finish. We had opportunities tonight to finish and couldn't take advantage of them," Coach Evaul explained. "We will also have to do a better job of protecting our weak side. That's how Erwin scored their goal, and Hendersonville really likes to use the cross to take advantage of a team's weak side, so we will have to really watch that. If we do those things, I think we'll be okay."
Both teams will enter Wednesday's contest ranked in the state's top ten 1A rankings and should be an exciting match. Opening kick is slated at 6 p.m. at MacDonald Stadium.
Both teams will enter Wednesday's contest ranked in the state's top ten 1A rankings and should be an exciting match. Opening kick is slated at 6 p.m. at MacDonald Stadium.
