Lady Eagles stifle Ola in the first round of the playoffs
MCDONOUGH, Ga. — It was all Eastside in the opening round of the Class AAAA playoffs as the Lady Eagles won in a 7-1 rout over Ola to begin the postseason.When the lights shined the brightest, senior Joanna Funes netted five goals to help propel the Lady Eagles past the Lady Mustangs and push the team one round further than they made it a year ago.However, the game started well in the favor of the hosting Mustangs.Just one minute and thirty seconds into the match, Ola found its way to a 1-0 lead over the Lady Eagles.A good pass down the pitch found its way to Ola’s leading scorer, Jasmine White, who dribbled past a pair of defenders before depositing the ball into the back of the net.The opening goal from White seemed to provide momentum for the hosts, but ultimately it was the only offensive output of the afternoon for the Lady Mustangs.Eastside’s back-line proved to make the necessary adjustments as Ola failed time and time again when it had chances to score in the box.Midway through the opening half, Eastside found its first goal of the playoffs.After her first three shots on goal were saved, Funes found her way into the box and provided the equalizer with a short shot into the goal.Funes’ goal seemingly opened the floodgates for the Lady Eagles’ offensive attack.Just three minutes later, Funes netted a brace.Funes dribbled past four Lady Mustangs before scoring her second goal of the match to put Eastside in front.With five minutes left in the half, Funes had the ball in the box with a chance to put yet another shot on target.Her shot was initially blocked by Ola’s keeper who rushed in, but Funes recovered the ball, dribbled past the keeper to her left and scored into an open net for a first half hat-trick.The Lady Mustangs had a chance to score on a late free kick, but the ball sailed right into the hands of the Eastside keeper for the save.With Ola unable to capitalize, Eastside went into intermission with a 3-1 lead.As the rain began to fall at the start of the second half, the Lady Eagles seemed to not let the weather conditions bother them one bit.Ola had a few chances to score early in the second half, but it was Funes once again that found a way to score. The senior scored from inside the box to put the Lady Eagles ahead 4-1.After four consecutive goals from Funes, two more Lady Eagles made their mark in the opening round.At the 17-minute mark of the half, Katheryn Wilber scored on a power shot from the edge of the box that went right over the hands of the Lady Mustangs’ keeper.Eight minutes later, Sydney Pascual took the ball and scored on a lofting shot that also went over the outstretched arms of the keeper.With the Lady Eagles ahead 6-1, Funes scored her fifth goal of the match to put the final touches on the road playoff win.Funes took the ball and sprinted 50 yards down the center of the pitch and past multiple defenders before scoring in the bottom corner of the net.The 7-1 victory is the fourth consecutive win for the Lady Eagles and the third time in the last four matches that they have scored seven goals or more.With the win, Eastside will move on to the next round to take on the Marist Lady War Eagles(15-3, 9-0).The Lady War Eagles won Region 5-AAAA and defeated Wayne County(7-10, 3-5) 9-0 in the first round.
MCDONOUGH, Ga. — It was all Eastside in the opening round of the Class AAAA playoffs as the Lady Eagles won in a 7-1 rout over Ola to begin the postseason.When the lights shined the brightest, senior Joanna Funes netted five goals to help propel the Lady Eagles past the Lady Mustangs and push the team one round further than they made it a year ago.However, the game started well in the favor of the hosting Mustangs.Just one minute and thirty seconds into the match, Ola found its way to a 1-0 lead over the Lady Eagles.A good pass down the pitch found its way to Ola’s leading scorer, Jasmine White, who dribbled past a pair of defenders before depositing the ball into the back of the net.The opening goal from White seemed to provide momentum for the hosts, but ultimately it was the only offensive output of the afternoon for the Lady Mustangs.Eastside’s back-line proved to make the necessary adjustments as Ola failed time and time again when it had chances to score in the box.Midway through the opening half, Eastside found its first goal of the playoffs.After her first three shots on goal were saved, Funes found her way into the box and provided the equalizer with a short shot into the goal.Funes’ goal seemingly opened the floodgates for the Lady Eagles’ offensive attack.Just three minutes later, Funes netted a brace.Funes dribbled past four Lady Mustangs before scoring her second goal of the match to put Eastside in front.With five minutes left in the half, Funes had the ball in the box with a chance to put yet another shot on target.Her shot was initially blocked by Ola’s keeper who rushed in, but Funes recovered the ball, dribbled past the keeper to her left and scored into an open net for a first half hat-trick.The Lady Mustangs had a chance to score on a late free kick, but the ball sailed right into the hands of the Eastside keeper for the save.With Ola unable to capitalize, Eastside went into intermission with a 3-1 lead.As the rain began to fall at the start of the second half, the Lady Eagles seemed to not let the weather conditions bother them one bit.Ola had a few chances to score early in the second half, but it was Funes once again that found a way to score. The senior scored from inside the box to put the Lady Eagles ahead 4-1.After four consecutive goals from Funes, two more Lady Eagles made their mark in the opening round.At the 17-minute mark of the half, Katheryn Wilber scored on a power shot from the edge of the box that went right over the hands of the Lady Mustangs’ keeper.Eight minutes later, Sydney Pascual took the ball and scored on a lofting shot that also went over the outstretched arms of the keeper.With the Lady Eagles ahead 6-1, Funes scored her fifth goal of the match to put the final touches on the road playoff win.Funes took the ball and sprinted 50 yards down the center of the pitch and past multiple defenders before scoring in the bottom corner of the net.The 7-1 victory is the fourth consecutive win for the Lady Eagles and the third time in the last four matches that they have scored seven goals or more.With the win, Eastside will move on to the next round to take on the Marist Lady War Eagles(15-3, 9-0).The Lady War Eagles won Region 5-AAAA and defeated Wayne County(7-10, 3-5) 9-0 in the first round.
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