Soccer rocked by Riverdale in 7-AAA tilt

When you host your first game of the season, ideally one would hope to face an unranked opponent.

But Thursday night at the WCHS soccer field, the Lady Pioneers faced off against the No. 7-ranked Lady Warriors of Riverdale in District 7-AAA action, with Riverdale coming away with a 9-0 victory.

Hannah McGowen led the Lady Warriors with four goals on the night as Becca Smith and Sarah Parker added two goals each and Kristin Williams added one.

Lady Pioneer keeper Taylor Douglas had 11 saves on the night as her counterpart Cheryl Onwu collected three saves for the Lady Warriors.

In the first 15 minutes of the first half Riverdale fired six shots at goal, but Douglas and the Lady Pioneer defense kept the Lady Warriors scoreless.

Riverdale’s relentless attack on offense eventually paid off as Smith scored on a header at the 21:20 mark off a pass from McGowen. Two minutes later Riverdale took a 2-0 lead when McGowen scored her first goal of the game.

The scoring frenzy continued during the final 12 minutes of the half as Riverdale’s offense kept the ball in front of the Lady Pioneer net. McGowen struck again at the 12:06 mark putting Riverdale up 3-0.

Warren County’s only opportunity on offense came with 9:48 left in the half off of a free-kick, but the Lady Pioneer offense failed to attack the net.

Riverdale marched downfield working the ball to the middle, giving Smith an opportunity to score her second goal of the game at the 8:24 mark.

McGowen followed with her third goal with 6:28 left on the clock and hit her fourth goal of the night with just under two minutes remaining in the half for a 6-0 lead at the break.

In the second half Williams scored at the 34:18 mark and Parker connected one minute later in what would be the Lady Warriors’ final goal of the contest for a 9-0 lead.

‘We came into the game with a solid game plan and it worked for the first 20 minutes,’ said coach Keith Hamilton.

‘We dropped back and doubled teamed the ball and it really gave Riverdale problems. Riverdale made a few adjustments and we still played very solid. That got a couple of quick goals midway through the period and we had a couple of girls who had to come out of the game and it just took a little wind out of our sails.

‘Riverdale is one of the top programs in the state and I told the girls I was really proud of the way they handled this team especially during the first half. When we got away from our game plan is when we got hurt.’

The Lady Pioneers will be at home on Wednesday to take on Cookeville at 4 p.m.