No. 15 Pine Lake Prep leaves no doubt against Christ The King for tenth straight win
Of the minor blemishes on Pine Lake Prep's program-altering 20-2-2 season a year ago, was a 0-1-1 record to the eventual 1A state champions at Christ The King.
Thanks to a brace from Maddyson Kerley, the Pride used Monday night at The Grey to raise the program's bar even higher. A 4-1 win set the program record for most consecutive wins with ten, and it completed a season-sweep of the Crusaders.
Entering the night having outscored opponents 40-2, playing from behind was not familiar territory for Paul Ebenhoeh's group.
Rylan Nicholson gave Christ The King a one goal lead in the 30th after a bounding ball skipped up on the turf and was misplayed by the Pine Lake Prep back line. With a small window of opportunity to put a ball on frame, the freshman did so and sent it past a cartwheeling keeper for a 1-0 lead.
The tally lit a fire under one of the state's most experienced teams.
Four minutes later, Avery Garrett served a ball into a heap of traffic. Laila Gilmore managed to get her foot on the ball in the box and finish to level the match at 1-1 in the 34th.
With 19.2 seconds left on the clock Kerley put a boot to another 50/50 ball from just in front of the cage. Initially, it appeared as if Christ The King's Brianna Pacholski cleared the ball off of the end line, but officials came together and confirmed the Liberty recruit's fourth of the year to take a 2-1 lead into the halftime break.
The final 40 was owned by the Pride.
With Garrett on the ball, Raegan Blickley headed in a corner kick just six minutes into the second for a 3-1 advantage.
Ansley Nixdorf capped off the scoring with under five to play thanks to a quick touch to Kerley for her second of the night.
The Crusaders' lone second half scoring chance came from the leg of Erin Reyes who mashed a shot from 30-yards out off of the left post.
League play continues on Wednesday when Pine Lake Prep hosts Bradford Prep.
Christ The King, who is now 2-3 in the Catawba Shores Athletic Conference, faces Mountain Island Charter on Wednesday. When they last met on March 13, the Raptors won 2-0.
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