VALDOSTA —
Lowndes hammered Westlake 8-0 in the first round of the Class AAAAA girls soccer playoffs on Wednesday at Martin Stadium.
The Vikettes scored two goals in the first four minutes, and never looked back. Seven different players scored for Lowndes on Wednesday.
“It’s a big relief (to win this game),” Lowndes head coach Chris Willis said. “The girls have worked so hard, and they wanted it more than I did. That’s a good thing.”
“Just a great (team) performance. They’re just ready. They’ve been itching to get (back to the sweet 16),” he added.
Lowndes is now 15-1-2 this season. The Vikettes will host either Collins Hill or Dacula next week in the second round.
Less than two minutes into Wednesday’s game, Lowndes senior Amber Dawkins made a pass to fellow captain Haley Pinkerton, who scored the Vikettes’ first goal.
“Amber caught her in the middle. (Haley) made a nice move inside, and the ball was sent into a gap. ... She cut the ball at the last minute, created some space for her and took a nice shot and scored,” Willis said.
Two minutes later, Pinkerton scored again, this time off of a pass from Alex Haun, making it 2-0 less than four minutes into the game.
In the 16th minute, Hannah-Jo Isaacson got the ball in the box, after taking a pass from Haun. She took a shot, and the ball went right through the goalie’s hands and into the goal, giving Lowndes a 3-0 lead.
Four minutes later, Pinkerton’s shot hit the post, but went right to Isaacson, who kicked it into the open net. But one of the linesmen called Isaacson for being offsides and disallowed the goal, despite the fact that there was a defender standing near the goal, a few yards in front of Isaacson.
In the 31st minute, Lowndes’ Laura Tunison got the ball near the sideline, dribbled in and passed it to Haylee Gordon in the box. Gordon passed it to Reanne Harris, who was standing a few feet away. Harris spun, shot the ball towards the right side of the net and put it into the goal to give the Vikettes a 4-0 lead.
In the 35th minute, Lowndes’ Ashley Miller got the ball near midfield and dribbled it towards the Westlake goal. About 15 yards from the goal, she stopped and fired a shot. The goalie made a diving stop, but she landed over the goal line, and Miller was awarded a goal, extending her team’s lead to 5-0.
In the 40th minute, Miller brought the ball down the field and sent a cross to Katie Willis, who took a shot. The ball went off of the goalie’s hands and into the goal to give Lowndes a 6-0 halftime lead.
“We had a great build-up play,” Coach Willis said. “Ashley Miller switched the fields and got it to Katie Willis on the back side. ... Just perfect execution, what we practice and practice, switching the fields, catching it on the back side, where the defense is a little bit weaker, and, of course, finishing.”
Seven minutes into the second half, Lowndes’ Melissa Glisson got the ball about 30 yards from the goal. The goalie had come out of her box, and was out of position. Glisson took advantage, shooting the ball over the goalie and into the goal to make it 7-0.
Lowndes scored its final goal in the 68th minute. Freshman Chelan Worms got the ball about 16 yards from the goal, saw an opening to shoot and blasted the shot into the goal to make the final score 8-0.
Allison Liu earned the shutout in goal for Lowndes.
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Related Photos
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Lowndes’ Hannah-Jo Isaacson (18) dribbles the ball while being defended by two Westlake players on Wednesday at Martin Stadium. A few seconds later, Isaacson scored the Vikettes’ third goal of the game. Christian Malone | The Valdosta Daily Times
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Lowndes’ Ashley Miller dribbles the ball during her team’s 8-0 victory over Westlake. Christian Malone | The Valdosta Daily Times
Discussion
Vikettes dominate
Lowndes wins playoff opener, 8-0
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