Adams notches hat trick to lead Garner past Harnett Central girls soccer
Not one, but two collisions between keeper and defender less than a minute apart helped Garner forward Kasey Adams record her second career hat trick as the host Trojans girls soccer team completed the season sweep of Harnett Central 4-0 on Wednesday night.
In the 68th minute, defender Megan Britt corralled a loose ball and fed Adams for a breakaway. Adams streaked into the box where she, HC keeper Bree Colbert and a defender all collided. The ball bounded away as Adams kept her feet. She got the ball back and easily placed into the net for her second goal of the night.
Forty-five seconds later, Adams got the ball again in space and went into the box. Once again, Colbert and a defender collided and the ball kept going towards the goal. Adams got possession and placed it into the net for her third of the match.
“I wasn’t really expecting that to happen, especially twice,” Adams said. “I just kept going and it worked out. I knew that I just had to stay with it each time.”
Adams notched her first tally in the 54th minute when the ball was played forward from defender Addison Mikulecky. It was intercepted, but misplayed by a Harnett Central defender and Adams ran in to take possession. She then dribbled 20 yards before beating Colbert to the far post low to make it 2-0.
The first-half’s lone goal had an Adams’ flavor to it as well, as her cross to Anna Grossheim – who headed it in – made it 1-0 in the fifth minute.
“I saw Anna there and I knew I had to cross it,” Adams said. “Coach said we get breakfast if someone gets a header, so I had to go for it and she got it.”
Colbert notched five saves in net, also showing plenty of poise coming off her line to thwart multiple runs by Garner attackers.
Cassidy Wilson had one save for Garner. She was relieved for the final six minutes by Ashley Heidbreder in the shutout.
Garner improved to 6-4-1 overall and 5-2 in the Greater Neuse River Conference. The visiting Trojans dropped to 5-9-1 and 1-7-1.
HC’s best chance came in the early minutes of the second half. Forward Alexis Gainey started a flurry of passes with a one-touch effort to Jessica Martinez. Martinez dribbled about 10 yards before finding McKinley Heston in open space.
As Heston reached the penalty area, however, Garner defender Lauren Marting raced in to tackle the ball away cleanly.
Another good chance came in the 63rd when McKinley slammed a ball into the front of the net where it struck a Garner defender and deflected toward the net. However, Wilson eyed it in time to grab it.
This story was originally published April 20, 2017 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Adams notches hat trick to lead Garner past Harnett Central girls soccer."