Midway eliminates Goldsboro from 2A soccer playoffs

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 12, 2016 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Wait a minute.

What's going on here?

Goldsboro head soccer coach Chad Lewis could see the look on his players' faces when Midway's style of play -- a consistent passing game -- caught them off guard.

Over the last five games, the Cougars had controlled the tempo against their opposition.

"That's a solid passing team," Lewis said. "I think that just got our girls off their game. They're used to being the ones possessing the ball. With the other team possessing it like this, they were like, 'oh God, what do we do now?'

"We didn't know what to do. We haven't prepared enough to win that possession back because we've been working so much on possessing the ball."

And once Midway stuck in the first goal, the uphill battle became even more difficult for Goldsboro on an overcast Wednesday evening. Three different Raiders scored during their opening-round, 4-0 victory over the Cougars in the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 2-A playoffs.

The Raiders (15-5-0 overall) misfired on two possessions within a three-minute stretch early in the first half. One shot, a free kick from the top of the 18-yard box, deflected off the crossbar. The second, a cross from sophomore Kasey McLamb just missed the right boot of senior Manasia Cobb, who was unmarked defensively near the back post.

Goldsboro (11-5-2) managed to work the ball toward its end of the field, only to see Midway regain possession by stepping into open spaces. Lewis noticed his team's sluggishness and encouraged them to win the loose balls.

"We weren't getting it back," Lewis said.

Midway created chances with solid midfield play and collected the eventual game-winning goal in the 23rd minute. Senior Emily Williams ran onto a loose ball -- in open space -- and ripped a 25-yard shot that sailed over the out-stretched gloves of Goldsboro keeper Kay-Lin Bethune and into the net.

"That first goal made them hang their heads," Lewis said.

The Raiders all but iced the outcome within a 90-second stretch just before halftime. Cobb raced past a defender, Bethune came off her line and Cobb tucked the ball away inside the far post.

Barely a minute later, sophomore Addison Apperson took a pass from Williams off a corner kick, and logged the visitors' third goal of the day.

"(Set plays) are something that's worked well for us all year long," Midway coach Trey Apperson said. "The girls pretty much handle it themselves. They see the field and know what opportunities are there and what we want to do off set pieces.

"They played smart, they played hard ... a good win against a good team."

Held without a shot on frame in the opening half, Goldsboro rediscovered its offense and increased its energy level in the second half. Midway keeper Kayla Kibler denied all four attempts and posted her 10th shutout of the season between the pipes.

"Those two goals (before halftime), that was the dagger," Lewis said. "If we could have kept it 1-0 at halftime, I felt like we had a really good chance because we were putting pressure on them. We just couldn't convert like they did."