Halfway through their Region 3-5A schedule, the Nation Ford girls’ soccer team is right where they want to be.
The Falcons improved to 6-0 in the region with a 3-0 win over rival Fort Mill on Tuesday, April 1. The Falcons improved to 12-2-1 overall on the season with the win.
“I would rather be where we are, than where everyone else is,” said Nation Ford head coach Christopher Dundr.
Nation Ford didn’t waste time in scoring a minute into the match with a goal from Annie Newton. The goal was a little controversial because the referee called it late after it seemed that Fort Mill had cleared it out of the box.
The Jackets took control after the goal and seemed to control possession more even getting a couple shots on goal. The two teams settled into a better rhythm and traded possessions more often midway through the first half.
Nation Ford had a corner kick in the 27th minute, but failed to convert. Fort Mill had a similar opportunity in their next possession with a penalty kick, but the ball was cleared out of the box before they could score.
The Falcons had a penalty kick opportunity in the 32nd minute, but couldn’t make it in the box. Nation Ford went up 2-0 with about a minute left in the first half on a goal from Alexa Morgano.
Fort Mill got one more shot on goal before the half, but Falcons’ keeper Sara McCaskill was able to scoop up the shot without any trouble.
The Jackets controlled possession early in the second half. Despite the control, Fort Mill only got off one shot in the first eight minutes of the half.
Nation Ford did not have as many opportunities at possession in the second half as they did in the first half. However defensively, they were able to keep Fort Mill off balance and keep them out of the net.
“The first half was tight,” Dundr said. “When up 2-0 at the half, we wanted to come out more defensively sound.”
About the 56th minute, the Falcons did get the advantage of a good spot and scored on a goal from Reagan Nelson to put Nation Ford ahead 3-0.
Fort Mill had a corner kick to where they were able to attack the goal, but McCaskill stayed true and stopped two shots on goal with about 20 minutes left in the match. Fort Mill had a couple more opportunities after the corner kick, but they either shot it too high or too far left.
As the second half wore on, Nation Ford got more opportunities to control possession which allowed them to run the clock down and preserve the shutout.
Fort Mill dropped to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in the region. Jackets’ head coach Ralph Latchana said he was proud of his team’s efforts.
“I think it is obvious we have a clear style of play,” he said. “We want to move the ball and dominate. I am proud of the girls. They have been invested in what we are trying to do.”
April 1 Roundup
The Fort Mill boys’ soccer team beat Nation Ford 1-0 to improve to 3-3 in Region 3-5A play and 6-7 overall on the year. Nation Ford dropped to 2-3 in the region and 11-4 overall with the loss.
The Nation Ford softball team beat Fort Mill 9-1 as the Jackets fell to 3-5 overall on the season and 2-3 in Region 3-5A. Nation Ford improved to 3-3 in the region and 9-6 overall with the win.
The Nation Ford baseball team took game one against Rock Hill in their three-game series with a 12-1 victory. Nation Ford is now 5-2 in Region 3-5A and 7-5 overall.
The Fort Mill tennis team beat Clover 6-0 to improve to 6-1 on the season. Winning for Fort Mill was Ehtan Franklin 6-4, 6-0; Arnav Meshram 6-0, 6-4; Patrick Wright 6-0, 6-1; Liam Marriott 6-0, 6-2; Oliver Johnson 6-0, 6-0; and Xander Pak and Lucas Coelho in doubles 6-0, 6-0.
The Fort Mill baseball team opened its series against Northwestern with a 10-0 win to improve to 10-3 overall and 7-3 in Region 3-5A.
The Catawba Ridge baseball team dropped game one of their three-game series with Indian Land losing 9-4 to fall to 7-5-1 overall and 4-3 in Region 3-5A play.
The Catawba Ridge softball team improved to 6-0 in Region 3-5A play and 16-0 on the season with a 4-0 win over Clover.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
