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Savannah Country Day girls soccer coach David Hooker knew about the talent and potential of the Hornet team this year and made sure to set up a tough non-region schedule to prepare his squad for the postseason.
A battle-tested Hornet side made the strategy pay off on Monday with a dominating 5-0 win over previously undefeated St. Vincent's that clinched the Region 3A Division I championship.
SCD improved to 14-3 overall and 5-0 in region play, while St. Vincent's is now 12-1 overall and 5-1 in the region.
Savannah Country Day was coming off one of its non-region tests from last week when the Hornets hosted Richmond Hill, which will enter the Class 6A state playoffs as a region champion and No. 1 seed. SCD took a 2-0 lead, before the Wildcats came back to tie it up and win on penalty kicks.
Using the setback as motivation, SCD looked strong from the start against St. Vincent's at Memorial Stadium Monday.
Senior Sophia Okumu got things started by beating defenders to a ball and scoring in the 11th minute, she found the back of the net again in the 51st minute.
In the 26th minute, the Hornets scored a beautiful goal when junior Emma Bromley made a cross to her classmate Reese Bailey, who redirected it with a glancing header with the SVA keeper going the other way for a memorable play.
Bailey scored her second goal in the 39th minute, and Caroline Hill netted a goal in the 64th minute after assisting on a pair. Claudia Barrow and Molly Hildebrandt also had assists for SCD.
Bromley, a defensive center midfielder, anchors the defense along with center back Madison Bueno. They kept the pressure off keeper Bella Grace Baker, who had five saves.
Bromley is one of the top players in the Coastal Empire, and has already made her college commitment to play at the College of Charleston. She's a leader on a talented team looking to make a playoff run.
"When we play against St. Vincent's, it's such a big rivalry — everybody is fueled up and ready to go," said Bromley, who has 16 goals and six assists on the season. "But I think we just had the hunger for the win today. Reese (Bailey) is my best friend, and I got around the outside back and saw Reese in front of the goal and thought 'that's perfect.' I was able to get it to her and she made a great header.
"Our moms have been heckling us about this game with St. Vincent's — so I think they are going to be happy about the win," Bromley said.
Bailey has also been a prolific goal scorer for the Hornets with 16 on the season, but she said this one was special.
"I was just looking at the ball and I knew the only way to get it into the goal was with my head," Bailey said. "And Emma put it right there. I think our determination, discipline and consistency have been the key for our success this year. Losing to Richmond Hill motivated us and we played well today."
Hooker set up the non-region matchups with Richmond Hill and Greater Atlanta Christian, the No. 1 ranked team in Class A-3A Private with a 14-1 record, along with May River, a tough South Carolina squad.
"We went back and forth with Greater Atlanta Christian and lost 3-2 and then lost on penalty kicks to Richmond Hill last week when we were up 2-0," Hooker said. "The girls understood the loss to Richmond Hill, but they weren't happy. In past years, they might have been OK with it, but now we've got a team that expects to win. This one was important for us, because now we'll get to host in the first round of the playoffs and that's big for us."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at [email protected]. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Country Day girls soccer team beats St. Vincent's for region title
Continue reading...
A battle-tested Hornet side made the strategy pay off on Monday with a dominating 5-0 win over previously undefeated St. Vincent's that clinched the Region 3A Division I championship.
SCD improved to 14-3 overall and 5-0 in region play, while St. Vincent's is now 12-1 overall and 5-1 in the region.
Savannah Country Day was coming off one of its non-region tests from last week when the Hornets hosted Richmond Hill, which will enter the Class 6A state playoffs as a region champion and No. 1 seed. SCD took a 2-0 lead, before the Wildcats came back to tie it up and win on penalty kicks.
Using the setback as motivation, SCD looked strong from the start against St. Vincent's at Memorial Stadium Monday.
Senior Sophia Okumu got things started by beating defenders to a ball and scoring in the 11th minute, she found the back of the net again in the 51st minute.
In the 26th minute, the Hornets scored a beautiful goal when junior Emma Bromley made a cross to her classmate Reese Bailey, who redirected it with a glancing header with the SVA keeper going the other way for a memorable play.
Bailey scored her second goal in the 39th minute, and Caroline Hill netted a goal in the 64th minute after assisting on a pair. Claudia Barrow and Molly Hildebrandt also had assists for SCD.
Bromley, a defensive center midfielder, anchors the defense along with center back Madison Bueno. They kept the pressure off keeper Bella Grace Baker, who had five saves.
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Bromley is one of the top players in the Coastal Empire, and has already made her college commitment to play at the College of Charleston. She's a leader on a talented team looking to make a playoff run.
"When we play against St. Vincent's, it's such a big rivalry — everybody is fueled up and ready to go," said Bromley, who has 16 goals and six assists on the season. "But I think we just had the hunger for the win today. Reese (Bailey) is my best friend, and I got around the outside back and saw Reese in front of the goal and thought 'that's perfect.' I was able to get it to her and she made a great header.
"Our moms have been heckling us about this game with St. Vincent's — so I think they are going to be happy about the win," Bromley said.
Bailey has also been a prolific goal scorer for the Hornets with 16 on the season, but she said this one was special.
"I was just looking at the ball and I knew the only way to get it into the goal was with my head," Bailey said. "And Emma put it right there. I think our determination, discipline and consistency have been the key for our success this year. Losing to Richmond Hill motivated us and we played well today."
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Hooker set up the non-region matchups with Richmond Hill and Greater Atlanta Christian, the No. 1 ranked team in Class A-3A Private with a 14-1 record, along with May River, a tough South Carolina squad.
"We went back and forth with Greater Atlanta Christian and lost 3-2 and then lost on penalty kicks to Richmond Hill last week when we were up 2-0," Hooker said. "The girls understood the loss to Richmond Hill, but they weren't happy. In past years, they might have been OK with it, but now we've got a team that expects to win. This one was important for us, because now we'll get to host in the first round of the playoffs and that's big for us."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at [email protected]. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Country Day girls soccer team beats St. Vincent's for region title
Continue reading...
