COVINGTON, Ga. — The Eastside Lady Eagles soccer team's missing offense exploded onto the scene Wednesday evening at Homer Sharp Stadium. After scoring only two goals in their first two games, the Lady Eagles netted fifteen goals in under 40 minutes against an overmatched Stephenson squad.
Eight different players netted their first goals of the young season in the rout.
Sophomore Bailey Love scored the game-winner just over one minute into the match. Fellow sophomores Lizzie Teasley and Hannah Scharf scored hat tricks. Juniors Lauren Gates and Aralyn Everett and senior Mya Cummings each had a brace, scoring two goals apiece. Juniors Kyli Greer and Gina Leal both scored a goal.
Freshman Karissa Aldridge sent a ball up to Teasley, who then sent it across to Love to open the scoring at the 38:45 mark. Teasley scored her hat trick in less than seven minutes. The first with 32:04 on the clock off a Cummings assist, the second at the 31:36 mark with an assist from senior Elizabeth Ozburn and the third unassisted with 25:10 left in the first half.
Scharf added the next two goals, the first unassisted with 23:53 on the clock and the next off a combination assist from Ozburn and Cummings. With 19:05 to play, Greer made it 7-0. As the seventh goal did not come in the first twenty minutes, the half continued. Scharf netted her third goal with 15:40 to go.
Gates scored her two goals in less than a minute and one-half to make it 10-0. The referees had the teams play on.
Everett scored at the 12:29 mark, Leal scored with about eleven minutes left in the half when she netted a Cummings shot that had rebounded off the crossbar and down in front of the goal. With 9:49 left Everett scored her second goal off an assist from Cummings. Cummings scored the final two goals at the 4:56 mark and the 3:22 mark to end the match, the second one off junior Lily Oftedal's shot that careened off the crossbar.
Junior Eastside goalkeeper Anna Shelton did not face a single shot on goal and only touched the ball a few times when it was passed back to her by her teammates.
The match was the first for the Lady Eagles since Feb. 7, as their two games scheduled for last week were cancelled. The 15-0 victory, completed in less than 37 minutes, raised the Lady Eagles record to 2-1.
"Glad to finally get a game in. We were able to play everyone tonight. We had multiple scorers and assists were plentiful as well," head coach Joel Singleton said. "Hopefully the opportunity to get in some good possession and fitness will help us moving forward. We had a couple of hat tricks today, that is always exciting."
The Eastside boys' match was very similar.
Creighton Goerner netted the game-winner at the 38:11 mark off the first of four Wesley Hudgins assists on the first five Eastside goals. Ant Lee made it 2-0 about three minutes later. Goerner, Lee and Jordan Beam all scored goals with help from Hudgins to make it 5-0 with 25:21 left in the first half.
Hunter Rowell scored a brace with goals at the 23:52 and 20:47 marks to bring the half to an end at 7-0 as there was more than 20 minutes to play when Eastside scored the seventh goal. As a result, the second stanza was shortened to twenty minutes due to mercy rule. Liam McGiboney, Matthew Jolley and Lucian Griffing all scored causing the referees to call the match with 11:52 left on the game-clock. Tristan Aldridge had assists on the first two second half goals.
Eagle goalkeeper Jackson Hamby only had to make one save in the match. The 10-0 win leaves the Eagles with a 3-0-1 record.
Next up for the Eastside squads is Southeast Whitfield on Friday at Homer Sharp Stadium. The Lady Eagles kick off the evening at 5:30 p.m., with the Eagles match to follow at 7:30 p.m.
