Cardinals top Bears behind Midkiff's hat trick

A hat trick from Ember Midkiff helped East Surry end Mount Airy’s five-match winning streak on April 26.

East carried a 2-1 lead into halftime, then used a late penalty kick to secure the road victory.

“It’s a great win for us against a great Mount Airy squad,” said East Surry coach William Hart. “With some of the obstacles we’ve faced recently it was good to see the girls show some fight and put forth a tremendous effort. We have a lot of girls playing new positions, and they really stepped up.”

Mount Airy entered the match fresh off a revenge victory over Elkin the night before. Elkin handed Mount Airy its only conference loss of the season 7-4 on April 2, then Mount Airy returned the favor with a 7-3 win on April 25.

The Granite Bears fired eight of the game’s first nine shots, but Cardinal keeper Sarah Slate kept the goal clean. East Surry found the back of the net on just its second shot on frame. Chloe Koons had a throw-in in the 19th minute that she rifled to Emory Anderson, then Anderson slid a pass to Midkiff for the strike. Hart applauded Koons’ and Colby Badgett for executing throw-ins that set the offense up with numerous opportunities.

Mount Airy evened the score two minutes later when Avayah Wall finished off a pass from Laura Livengood. Mount Airy’s high-powered offense continued to bear down on East’s back line, but East held strong before Midkiff scored again in the 34th minute.

The Bears nearly scored the equalizer midway through the second half, but the play was halted due to an offside call. The home team continued to dominate the shot count, but was held off by Slate and the Cardinals’ defense.

“Mount Airy has a lot of firepower on offense and in the midfield,” Hart said. “Maria Blakeney and the entire defense did a great job of slowing them down.”

East Surry scored an insurance goal in the 32nd minute when Midkiff converted a penalty kick.

Mount Airy had late chances to cut into the lead, including a corner kick in the 35th minute, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Both teams returned to the pitch on April 29. East Surry dropped a 1-0 nonconference game to Elkin, while Mount Airy bounced back with a 7-0 victory over South Stokes.