By Spencer Spilman.
The Hays Lady Rebels soccer team hosted the Cedar Creek Eagles Friday night at Shelton Stadium.
The Lady Rebels dominated the game from start to finish and took home the win, 3-0.
Cedar Creek struggled to break the Rebels’ defense and rarely got the ball past midfield. The Lady Eagles had just one shot all game, compared to the Lady Rebels 33 shots.
Hays Coach Brent Holcomb was pleased with the way his team continued to attack to goal with shots.
Hays High freshman Gabi Elsner fights through defenders during an match against Lockhart earlier in the season. (Photo by Cyndy Slovak-Barton) |
“We had tons of shots on goal, and we just need to do better with placing around the keeper, and just keep doing it,” he said.
Despite the endless barrage of shots, the Cedar Creek defense stood strong until the Rebels finally broke through, thanks to Kayla Humphries. A shot from the Lady Rebels rebounded off the post and right to the feet of Humphries. From close range, she wasted no time and buried it in the back of the net with just over two minutes left before halftime.
The single goal from Humphries was the only score of the first half, but the Rebels wasted no time getting back on the scoreboard in the second half. Hays’ Gabi Elsner avoided several Eagles defenders and lobbed a long shot over the goalkeeper and into the top left corner for what many fans felt was an incredible goal, making the score 2-0 just seven minutes in.
For Elsner, it was just a matter of time before she found the back of the net. “I was just searching for a goal all game, and finally found one,” she said.
Hays’ offense remained on the attack, making the Eagles goalkeeper work. Of the 33 shots taken by the Rebels, 19 were on target. Cedar Creek made 16 saves and caused problems for the Hays offense, which kept the game from being a blowout.
The Lady Rebels offense continued to put pressure on Cedar Creek in the second half. It wasn’t until there was just three and a half minutes left in the game when Rebels’ Mila Bustos found herself with the ball in the middle of the field. She took a shot from outside the penalty box and the goalkeeper stood no chance. She blew the shot into the left side of the net to seal the victory with a 3-0 score.
Coach Holcomb said, “That third goal came from Mila Bustos just doing what she does, she’s a natural forward.”
The Lady Rebels will have the week off until they travel to play against La Grange on Friday.
