WCDS-Elon School

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 15, 2011 1:51 AM

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Wayne Country Day wanted redemption.

The Elon School turned into an innocent victim.

Haunted by a second-half meltdown against an archrival two days earlier, the Chargers bore their frustrations on the Commodores in opening-round play of the N.C Independent Schools Athletic Association Class 1-A girls' soccer playoffs Friday afternoon.

Sarah Best notched the game-winning goal 58 seconds into the game, and WCDS emerged victorious, 3-0. The victory sets up a quarterfinal-round matchup Tuesday at Greenfield, which scored six second-half goals against the Chargers on Wednesday.

Kickoff is 7 p.m.

"No one was pleased with the way we played in the second half (against Greenfield)," said WCDS assistant coach Jordan Pearson. "They were all ready to get back out, prove not only to everyone watching, but prove to themselves that we're the team that played (strong) in the first half of that game.

"Our girls kept their heads together today. We went out, played our game and didn't change anything that we typically do. They were aggressive and able to put the ball in the net."

And put it in the net quickly.

The seventh-seeded Chargers (12-6-0 overall) controlled the opening kickoff and quickly pushed the ball into the Commodores' final defensive third of the field. Catherine Ford connected on a pass to Best, who tucked it away for a 1-0 advantage.

Best leads WCDS with 24 goals this season.

"Any team, when you come out (strong) in the first minute or so, sets the pace for how the game is going to go, at least the rest of the half," said Pearson. "If you come out and you're lazy, your pass is off, that's the way that you play. If you can get into the flow of things early, that's something that sticks with you the rest of the half."

The 10th-seeded Commodores (4-11-1) kept the Chargers off the board for the next 36-plus minutes. Ford, Best, Catherine Langston and Abbey Pope got open looks against Elon keeper Kristina Madarasz, but couldn't convert their shot attempts.

Just before halftime, Ford received a pass from Best and collected her 17th goal of the season. Ford capped the scoring with an unassisted goal in the 55th minute.

WCDS keeper Kim Martell, in her final home game, logged three saves to secure the shutout.