GIRLS' SOCCER: Eastern Wayne logs road shutout

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on May 5, 2017 10:13 AM

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PIKEVILLE -- Pace and possession.

Those two game-plan elements were the focal point for Eastern Wayne on Thursday, and executed with aplomb en route to a clinical, 4-0 victory over Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A girls' soccer foe Charles B. Aycock at Hardy Talton Stadium.

It just had to survive a siege to get started.

After 15 minutes of helter-skelter, stop-and-start action at midfield, EW junior co-captain Claire Molloy broke matters open by finding the back of the net on a deft assist in front of goal by Brennan Dove.

From there, the runout took proper shape.

EW (14-6-1 overall, 6-6 ECC) tacked on another goal 11 minutes later, when Dove took advantage of an Aycock foul just outside the box by sailing a surface-to-air free kick into the corner net.

At the break, Eastern Wayne held a 2-0 advantage.

Matters escalated quickly in the second period, as Dove won possession of a 50-50 ball in front of the goal and launched a winner in the 42nd minute that essentially sealed the outcome in the rivalry match.

"Our thing today was to finish early," Eastern Wayne head coach Scott Summers said. "We wanted to get that first goal and not let them in the game."

Mission accomplished.

Molloy capped the affair with her second goal of the evening, a one-timer in the 53rd minute, and Eastern Wayne trotted out the remainder in strategic, hold-shape format.

Done and done.

Aycock (7-10, 4-8 ECC), not in its usual attack and sprint mode, was without the services of sophomore forward Hannah Spier, who is out indefinitely with a torn meniscus.

"We tried to control their four, and sneak a goal here and there," CBA head coach Byron Adkins noted. "But their four were better than my 11."

Eastern Wayne, winner of the ECC 3-A conference slate, now awaits its playoff seeding. The Warriors are expected to host a first-round postseason game next Wednesday.