Pollard hits century mark in goals; West Johnston outscores Smithfield-Selma
West Johnston junior Robin Pollard poured in seven goals Tuesday night, reaching a milestone along the way as the Wildcats outscored Smithfield-Selma 10-5 in a nonconference girls soccer game.
Pollard’s sixth goal gave her 100 for her high school career.
“She’s a phenomenal player,” said first-year West Johnston coach Luke Waddell. “She’s a joy to have. Her 100th goal is a remarkable accomplishment. It’s an honor to have her on my team.
“Her first touch is always in the right spot. She has a remarkable ability to be aware of what is around her and to make her first touch in the right spot. She is explosive off of it and her finishing is just phenomenal. She can use both feet which is something you don’t normally see in female (high school) players as well. That just adds to the punch.”
Pollard had plenty of punch against Smithfield-Selma in a game that was a rematch of the first game of the season for both teams. That game, in the Four Oaks Bank Soccer Cup, was won by West Johnston on penalty kicks.
“Since that was the first game of the season, we both knew we had improved in the past few weeks,” Pollard said. “It was a big matchup between the two teams. It was a pretty high-scoring game and I’m glad we were able to come out on top.”
Pollard scored in the 16th minute to put West Johnston (4-1-1) up 1-0 and then added a second goal a minute and half later to make it 2-0 — both times getting the ball in the middle of the field and making a run through the defense to find the back of the net.
West Johnston made it 3-0 on a goal from Fabiola Martinez in the 22nd minute. Smithfield-Selma got no closer than a two-goal deficit the rest of the way.
“Defense all around, from our forwards down to our actual defense, we did not play defense,” said Smithfield-Selma coach Stacy Holland. “That killed us.”
West Johnston also got two goals from Martinez and one from Taylor Dorsey.
Smithfield-Selma (3-4) got two goals from Natalie Sabiston and one each from Vanesa Sanchez, Lucia Guzman and Parker Watson.
They said it
“I like to be competitive anytime I step on the field,” West Johnston’s Robin Pollard said. “I just try to compete and my mindset is to be the best player on the field. … My goal is to be the No. 1 scorer in the conference, if not the state.”
Turning point
West Johnston took charge with its 3-0 advantage in the first 22 minutes, forcing Smithfield-Selma to play catch-up the rest of the way.
Three to know
Robin Pollard, West Johnston: The junior scored seven goals, two below her single-game personal best of nine, to reach 101 goals for her career.
The Spartans simply had no answer for the talented forward who has committed to play soccer at UNLV.
Fabiola Martinez, West Johnston: The sophomore added a pair of goals for the Wildcats.
Natalie Sabiston; Smithfield-Selma: The sophomore led the Spartans with a pair of goals.
Looking ahead
Both teams are full on into conference play this coming week. SSS hosts Triton Monday, then heads to Western Harnett on Tuesday. West Johnston welcomes East Wake on Monday and heads to Harnett Central on Wednesday.
This story was originally published March 16, 2016 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Pollard hits century mark in goals; West Johnston outscores Smithfield-Selma."