GIRLS' SOCCER: Eastern Wayne, Spring Creek play to 1-1 draw

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on April 13, 2017 10:10 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Her left ankle heavily taped around a bag of ice, Mirna Santiago started to hobble off the soccer pitch.

She stopped briefly and shifted the weight to her right leg.

After a short conversation with Spring Creek head coach Jared Miller, the sophomore defender winced as she hobbled toward the parking lot. Mirna's injury, aggravated from the night before, was just a microcosm of the Gators' game against county rival Eastern Wayne on Wednesday evening.

"It was a tough battle for both teams," Miller said.

Missed chances.

Luck.

A late break.

All factored into a 1-1 draw between the county rivals and -- despite Miller's mixed reactions -- felt like redemption after enduring a five-goal loss to the Warriors earlier this season.

"We came out and played much better in the second half than we did in the first half by far," Miller said. "I challenged them at halftime 'let's get up and play.'

"I told them we needed to score early in the first 10 minutes...almost did it on the dot."

As the clock ticked under 30 minutes, Santiago lined up a corner kick and delivered a pass just inside the 6-yard box. Juliana Hernandez took a rip and the ball clanged off the crossbar.

McKinley Edmonson gathered the rebound and shanked a shot that sailed into the upper right 90 of the net.

1-1.

New ballgame.

"McKinley had a great goal," Miller said. "I don't know if she fully meant to kick it there or not, but we'll take it, no matter what. Sometimes a little bit of luck helps."

Fortune wasn't an ally for EW.

The Warriors seized a 1-0 lead on Alana Kazar's assist from Madison Tallarida in the eighth minute. They used the width of the field to stretch the Gators' defense and crossed numerous balls into the box.

No one was there to convert.

"We didn't finish opportunities in the first half and that makes a difference at the end of the day," said Warriors head coach Scott Summers, who referred to a pair of one-on-one chances against SC keeper Fernanda Martinez.

"Game changers."

Martinez notched eight saves.

Spring Creek (8-5-1 overall) took a collective deep breath after Edmonson's goal and controlled possession a little more, which led to scoring chances. The Gators' best opportunity occurred in the 78th minute on Ashley Marriner's cross into the box for Santiago, whose shot bounced wide of the back post.

Eastern Wayne (10-4-1) couldn't gain possession of a loose ball inside the box and Martinez took the ball off Brennan Dove's foot before she could take a shot.

"I was hoping we could squeeze one in before the game ended, but they did a good job defending and stopping our girls," said Summers, who revealed his team endured some fatigue after taking part in a school-sponsored Special Olympics event earlier in the day.

"We'll take the tie."