GIRLS' SOCCER: Cougars blank Saints

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on April 8, 2017 11:19 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

DUDLEY -- Head coach Chad Lewis can't be more happier that Goldsboro has found its swagger again on the soccer pitch.

And that could be bad news for future opponents.

The Cougars shucked their recent bi-polar temper and displayed a workman-like effort during a 6-0 shutout over county rival Southern Wayne on a cold, windy Friday afternoon.

"We were kind of on a downswing as far as the play on the field went...getting lackadaisical, getting complacent, not working as hard as we needed to," Lewis said. "Tonight, they came back and worked hard. They kept the intensity up the entire game. In the previous two games, it took us a whole half to get riled up."

Goldsboro sophomore Juanita Cortes-Torres posted a "sombrero (hat) trick" -- three goals, including two within a two-minute stretch midway through the second half.

Abigail Lewis notched two goals.

The Doctor -- Shakia, that is -- delivered a much-prescribed strike early after intermission.

Lewis couldn't have been more pleased.

"That wind was brutal in the first half...gusting and we could barely get the ball out of the back," he said. "The second half we got clicking on all cylinders again, finding passes, making more runs like we've been doing the previous games."

Southern Wayne experienced nothing but misfortune.

The Saints (3-10-0 overall) lost their starting goalie, Dacie Williams, to an injury after a collision inside the penalty box. Betsy Carreno, who is also injured, finished out the half.

Lanira Rodriguez patrolled the goal in the second half.

Williams' absence and Rodriguez's placement between the pipes shattered Southern Wayne's gameplan.

"After my goalie got hurt and we had to move things around, that's when we started to break down and they scored," Saints head coach Mario Aguilar said. "We've got a young team. (Defensively) they weren't giving us any space."

The Cougars (11-1-3) consistently prevented Saints strikers Caroline Best and Daylan Wiggs from getting any touches on the ball. They intercepted passes in open spaces and immediately pushed the ball toward the offensive end.

GHS reeled off 17 shots. Williams, Carreno and Rodriguez combined for seven saves.

"They've got more chemistry, more control of the ball," said Aguilar, whose team managed just two shots on frame and has netted only one goal in the last 880 minutes of play.

Lewis' team filed its fourth straight shutout and eighth overall this season. The Cougars' goals-against-average (GAA) dropped to 0.47.