2A GIRLS' SOCCER PLAYOFFS: Goldsboro claims first-ever playoff win

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 11, 2017 9:59 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Hannah Williamson couldn't remember the play.

"(The ball) just came to me and I started dribbling," she said.

One Reidsville defender stabbed at the ball.

Williamson did a little side step and sent a through ball to Tziah Kelly, who burst down the right sideline and gathered the pass.

"Go to goal!" shouted Goldsboro head coach Chad Lewis.

Seconds later, Kelly's right-footed laser sneaked inside the near post and past the out-stretched gloves of Rams goalie Talea Harden.

1-nil Cougars.

"I think it gave us a sense of calmness," Williamson said. "It helped us relax, know that we were going to get through the game. We were really tense at first, very nervous about the game."

Goldsboro (17-2-3 overall) tacked on two more goals and seized its first-ever girls' soccer playoff victory -- an opening-round, 3-0 triumph over Reidsville on the Cougar Stadium pitch Wednesday evening.

The Cougars were 0-4 in their previous N.C. High School Athletic Association postseason appearances on both the 1-A and 2-A levels combined.

"I knew it was not going to be a walk in the park, for sure," Lewis said. "That was the second-best team we had played all year behind Eastern Wayne. They came out here and gave it 100 percent."

Harden encountered early pressure.

Within a five-minute stretch, the sixth-seeded Cougars fired three of their game-high 13 shots on frame. Juanita Cortes-Torres, standing inside the circle at the 18-yard box, ripped a free kick than clanged off the crossbar.

Torres attempted another free kick from about 25 yards out that -- once again -- made contact with the crossbar. And Shakia Doctor's one-on-one against Harden resulted in a glove save that left the Reidsville keeper breathless for a few minutes.

Lewis paced the sideline.

"At first, they were running all tense," he said. "Their play was kind of knee-jerk reaction."

Until the first goal.

The Williamson-Kelly hookup energized the Cougars, who -- from that point -- displayed a smooth style of play that included one- or two-touch balls that created some fluidity in their offense.

A multi-sport athlete, Anna Prezbindowski helped Goldsboro obtain its second goal. The junior sent a ball forward to freshman midfielder Aaliyah Carroll, who dumped it off to Cortes.

Cortes stayed even win the Rams' defensive line, then charged after the ball and drew a hard foul inside the box. Abigail Lewis easily tucked away the penalty kick.

2-nil Cougars.

"When they move the ball, they can walk down the field with it," Lewis said. "They did it multiple times tonight...one-touch passes here and there. They're a very talented group that has a ton of potential if they would just believe in themselves."

Reidsville applied more pressure in the second half, but Goldsboro keeper Selena Morales proved unpenetrable between the pipes. The sophomore stopped four point-blank rocket shots by freshman Samantha Cole, and preserved the Cougars' single-season school-record 11 shutout of the season.

Goldsboro sophomore Rylie Hales capped the Cougars' historical outing with an unassisted goal in the 76th minute.

"They gave it everything they had," said Lewis, whose team entertains future East Central 2-A foe Midway at 7 p.m. Saturday.