History repeated itself on April 18 as North Surry outlasted East Surry in a 1-0 match.
When the teams met in Pilot Mountain on March 22, Sadie Badgett scored the game-winner for North with less than 40 seconds remaining in regulation. This time around the match’s only goal was scored less than 10 minutes after the opening kickoff.
A penalty kick made by Kim Elias in the seventh minute was the lone goal in the Greyhounds’ Foothills 2A Conference victory.
Thursday’s win was North Surry’s 10th of the year, marking just the program’s second season in 15 years with double-digit wins.
“We’ve had a solid season so far, and I don’t think they’ve fully grasped what they’ve accomplished,” said North Surry coach Trace Simmons. “I’m proud of them, but they know we’ve still got a lot of soccer left to play this year.”
The Greyhounds came into the match against the Cardinals fresh off their third loss of the season.
North Surry (10-3-1, 5-2 FH2A) fell to two-time defending FH2A Champion Wilkes Central (9-3, 6-0 FH2A) on April 16. North was held scoreless for the first time all season in the 3-0 loss, but also held the powerhouse from Wilkes County to its fewest goals against a conference opponent since 2019.
“We played really well against them,” Simmons said. “It’s not like we didn’t have chances to score too, we just couldn’t put them away. But, to hold them to three is tough to do. Our defense played really well against them and really well tonight.”
North Surry held East Surry to just its fourth scoreless game of the season. The Cardinals (8-4, 3-4 FH2A) started the season 5-0 before suffering their first loss to the Hounds, then the Cards entered Thursday’s match having won three-straight before once again having a streak snapped by the Greyhounds.
“Trace is doing a great job with his girls; they play hard and do what has to be done to win,” said East Surry coach William Hart. “My girls played their hearts out and came up one short. I couldn’t be happier with their effort.”
Thursday’s match was held at Gentry Middle School as both schools’ home fields were under renovation. The change in venue brought with it an early kickoff of 4:30 p.m. on a day when temperatures rose to the mid-80s. The game was also extended due to injuries, water breaks and a 20-minute stoppage in the first half. Exhaustion would be a factor down the stretch in the marathon match, but the teams were full throttle out of the gate.
East Surry had a brief flurry of offense after kickoff, but possession was mostly controlled by North early in the match. This led to Julia Pedraza drawing a penalty kick in the seventh minute that Elias placed in the back of the net. The goal was Elias’ 17th of the season.
Elias followed her PK by peppering the goal with a pair of shots in the 12th minute that sailed wide of the mark. She later set Pedraza up with a look that was saved by East’s Sarah Slate, who finished the night with nine saves.
“North Surry has a talented offense that was very determined today,” Hart said. “Chloe Koons, Sophie Hutchens, Maria Blakeney and Colby Badgett did amazing work on the back line to prevent open looks, and that made things easier for Sarah in goal. Sarah also had a lot of big saves today.”
A string of passes between East Surry’s Emory Anderson, Ella Simmons, Sally Blakeney and Ember Midkiff gave the visitors their first threatening push into North Surry’s defensive third midway through the half, but a clearance from North’s Haylee Smith put a stop to the run. Midkiff got off East Surry’s first shot of the half in the 31st minute that was deflected out for a corner kick that North keeper Harley Edwards snatched out of the air. Melanie Castillo Ochao later swooped in to interrupt a give-and-go between Midkiff and Anderson.
Similar to the first half, the Greyhounds came out of the gate strong and put a shot just over the crossbar less than 60 seconds in. Elias’ shot failed to hit the mark, then Pedraza fed a through ball to Badgett that Slate dove on to prevent a shot. The Hounds earned a corner kick two minutes later, but it too was caught by Slate.
East Surry attacked the sidelines more in the second half and nearly had a goal in the 48th minute. Ella Simmons crossed in from the visitors sideline and the ball bounced around the 18-yard box before landing at the feet of Priscilla Seawell, who fired a shot that was saved by Edwards.
Badgett, Pedraza and Cat Chaire led North’s offense in the second half as Elias dropped back to defensive midfield, but Elias would still push up to fire a shot from distance on occasion. The Cardinals worked to force the Hounds to the corners to prevent shots from straight on.
East Surry’s best chance at an equalizer came in the 68th minute. A long throw from Koons in North Surry’s defensive third set Simmons up with a shot that was deflected out for a corner kick. Midkiff’s corner sailed into a crowded 18-yard box, but Smith and the Greyhounds’ back line quickly cleared to help secure North Surry’s eighth shutout of the season.
North Surry took sole possession of third place in the FH2A Conference with Thursday’s win. Wilkes Central leads the conference at 6-0, followed by Forbush at 5-1, North Surry at 5-2, East Surry at 3-4, Surry Central at 1-4-1, North Wilkes at 1-6 and West Wilkes at 0-4-1.
North Surry will continue conference competition at Forbush (6-6-1, 5-1 FH2A) on April 23. East Surry returns to action the same night by traveling to Wilkes Central (9-3, 6-0 FH2A).
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