Second-half offensive production gets Cary by Garner in soccer
Cary has had a long run of domination in its non-conference girls’ soccer series with traditional rival Garner.
And although the Trojans definitely made some noise Thursday night, once again the Imps claimed a comfortable result.
Julia Leibold had a goal and an assist while Mia Ziade had two assists as Cary scored twice in the final 15 minutes to claim a 4-1 victory.
The result improved Cary of the SWAC 4A to 2-3-1 on the season, while Garner of the Greater Neuse River 4A fell to 0-4 under first-year head coach Jennifer Enyeart.
The teams took eight shots on goal apiece, but the Imps were more efficient.
Cary had a 1-0 halftime lead, and the teams traded goals early in the second before the Imps added two down the stretch to solidify the result.
“We talked about execution at halftime, and I thought we did a really good job getting numbers forward,” veteran Cary coach Laura Kerrigan said. “We had squandered opportunities, and we scored right away after halftime. I think we had been a little bit complacent before they scored their goal.
“We had a lot of players contribute, and did a good job of making adjustments.”
Turning point
Anna Ganci’s goal on a Mia Ziade cross to put Cary up 2-0 just seconds into the second period.
They said it
“Up until the last few minutes we did a good job of not letting them dominate us in the middle,” said Garner coach Enyeart, who was once a player for the Trojans. “There at the end the legs on our defense got a little tired. But it was anybody’s game at halftime. I remember losing to them something like 18-0 when I was playing. If we had lost to Cary 2-1, it would definitely have been a moral victory.”
Three to know
Julia Leibold, Cary: She scored the game’s first goal and added an assist on a Katie Hoyek’s marker in the 72nd minute to assure the win.
“We played through balls and got a lot of shots for scoring opportunities,” Leibold said. “This rivalry is intense. We know Garner will always play hard against us. On my goal I just got a great pass from Mia and it was easy to put it in.”
Mia Ziade, Cary: She has assists on the Imps’ first two goals, which turned out to be enough to win the game.
“I thought it was a good game,” Ziade said. “We definitely did a good job taking advantage of our scoring opportunities and scoring on set pieces. I think we picked up our intensity in the second half after we got that quick goal.”
Lily Schild, Garner: She scored unassisted in the 52nd minute to cut Cary’ 2-0 lead in half.
“I have a wonderful team and I love my teammates,” Schild said. “This was probably the best game we’ve played all season. I think if we play this well in our conference games we have a chance to win the conference. The better team just won today.”
By the numbers
4: The number of Cary players to score goals.
9: The number of seconds into the second half needed for Cary’s Anna Ganci to score on a Ziade cross.
16: The number of shots on goal in the game.
225: The number of seconds between the Imps’ third goal from Jade Bouedo and the last one from Katie Hoyek in the 78th and 82nd minutes.
This story was originally published March 11, 2016 at 10:17 AM with the headline "Second-half offensive production gets Cary by Garner in soccer."