No. 8-ranked Norcross girls’ soccer team defeated Archer 5-0 in the first round of the Class AAAAAA state playoffs at Blue Devil Stadium on Thursday with a remarkable strike just before halftime breaking the deadlock.
Sophomore Abby Maguire uncorked a shot from 35 yards out that looped into the back of the net with 2:55 remaining before the break, the sixth Norcross shot on goal of the opening 40 minutes and the first to solve Archer goalkeeper Alyona Zaprivoda.
The initial goal opened everything else up, and the Blue Devils cruised from there with two more goals, including two from new program record goal-scorer Nyla Brown.
“I think that we were just kind of waiting for that moment to happen,” Norcross head coach Laura Freeman said. “Huge shoutout to Abby Maguire for getting us there. As soon as we got that goal and had a good talk at halftime, we bounced right back.”
The Blue Devils spent most of the first half in control, handling the bulk of possession and carving out opportunities from all angles. Maddi Yi had a shot from close range deflected around the post for a corner, a close scramble from a deflection nearly resulted in a scrappy goal and one even did find the back of the net from a cross off the right wing, but an offsides call negated the goal.
Consistent pressure and forward momentum eventually led to the goal, and the momentum only continued after the restart.
“I think us all just coming together and getting to have chats,” Freeman said was the biggest change at halftime. “Even if we didn’t get that one goal [before halftime], really just getting to all sit down and come together and re-group was a big thing.”
Less than 10 minutes into the second half senior Katherine Maguire feathered a perfect through ball between a pair of Archer defenders, meeting fellow senior Ashlyn Valentine in stride as she started to cut in from the right wing. Valentine was alone against the goalkeeper and took her opportunity, sliding the ball into the back of the net to double the lead and firmly establish control for the home team.
Just after a water break midway through the second half Norcross made it three with a similarly worked goal. Captain Sophie Dommert worked a long through ball to E.V. Kim, and she smashed it home at the near post for the third goal.
It took less than a minute for the fourth.
Brown scored from just outside the penalty area just 57 seconds later, turning the game into a blowout late against an exhausted Archer defense. Brown added her second goal with 12:28 to go, a long curling effort from outside the area that banked in off the right post.
“She’s amazing and she’s funny and she brings a lot of energy to the team,” Freeman said about Brown.
The two goals took her season total to 36, a new record for the program.
“All season it was kind of something in the back of my mind,” Brown said. “And as we got closer I was like, ‘Oh, I could actually get it.’ It’s just very exciting.”
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