Hat trick clinches NR’s crown
Published 10:42 pm Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Nansemond River’s Megan Proffit scored all three of her team’s goals as the Lady Warriors completed a Suffolk sweep Tuesday night with a 3-1 win over visiting King’s Fork.
Proffit, a sophomore center midfielder, struck from all angles and with two of her tallies, from well outside the penalty box, to provide the Lady Warrior offense. Her goals actually gave the Lady Warriors (6-7, 3-3) a comeback victory after the Lady Bulldogs (4-11, 1-6) took the lead and held it until just before halftime.
The Lady Warriors, coming off an 8-0 win against their older city rival Lakeland, controlled most of the possession and kept the field slanted almost totally to the KF penalty area for the first 15 minutes of play.
Quick counterattacks were KF’s main attacking idea, with KF midfielders playing long balls down the field for forward Whitney Nichols to do her best running after them.
The Lady Bulldog plan worked to perfection, and the first KF shot on goal was a beauty. Nicolette Santora’s boot from 60 yards from the NR goal sent Nichols sprinting ahead. Nichols broke behind two Lady Warrior defenders and struck a rolling shot by NR keeper Rachel McManus for a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute.
King’s Fork managed only one more shot on goal the rest of the match. If not for Proffit’s right-footed shots, though, one Lady Bulldog goal might have been enough. Lady Bulldog goalie Ashlie Gibson finished with 14 saves.
Proffit netted a 21-yard shot on a free kick, just left of center from the top of the KF box, eight minutes before halftime.
Eleven minutes into the second half, Proffit worked with forward Danielle Gallagher for a rare assist by hand on a soccer field.
Gallagher took a throw-in from deep down the right sideline, less than a yard from the endline. Gallagher’s long throw hit Proffit in stride coming into the KF box, and Proffit hit a shot with her first touch into the upper right corner of the KF goal.
Proffit and Gallagher seemingly repeated the same play 15 minutes later, but with this Proffit shot finding the net from 30 yards away, only for the goal to get waved off for NR having an illegal substitution on the throw-in.
The Lady Warriors got the third goal a few minutes later, in the 70th minute. Proffit’s goal was the last piece of great ball movement from defense to offense by the Lady Warriors.
Backs Sara Gallagher and Karin Kleps advanced the ball out of NR’s half of the field and midfielder Elice Genier passed, finding Proffit open in the middle of the field for a strike from 27 yards out.
Nansemond River will go for its fourth win in five matches hosting Indian River Thursday at 7 p.m. King’s Fork hosts Western Branch Thursday night.