WCHS soccer tames Lions: Cornelius scores twice in 3-0 win
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“This was our best effort as a team that we have had all year,” said head coach Keith Hamilton. “Hopefully tonight’s win will be a turning point and keep these girls playing as a team.”
Warren County controlled the game from the opening whistle. St. Andrews had trouble staying with the Lady Pioneers’ spread offense, and with 18 minutes off the clock Alex Smartt put her Lady Pioneers on the scoreboard, hitting the back of the net from 15 yards out.
Warren County stayed in control on offense pushing the ball downfield and keeping St. Andrews from mounting any offense. Brittany Bowdoin was taken down from behind by a Lady Lion outside the box. Vanessa Cornelius took the indirect kick and fired it past the St. Andrew’s goalie to give Warren County a 2-0 lead.
St. Andrews mounted a solid offensive run with 10 minutes left in the half. A St. Andrews attacker found a weak spot in the Lady Pioneer defense and fired a shot, but Lady Pioneer goalie April Burkett meet the challenge and made a diving save to send Warren County into the half with the 2-0 lead.
St. Andrews came out in the second half trying to control the tempo of the game. The Lady Lions had a shot at the 33-minute mark, but the Lady Pioneers’ defense stood tall and turned the momentum back over to their offense.
Warren County stayed on offense for the last 20 minutes of the game. With good ball movement and communication, Cornelius worked her way in front of the net and scored her second goal of the game for a 3-0 lead. St. Andrews tried on several occasions to pick up the pace on offense, but missed passes and aggressive defense by Warren County saw time tick off the clock for the Lady Pioneer victory.
The Lady Pioneers offense had 20 shots at goal, while Burkett and Erin Wolford picked up two saves each.
“We dominated the first half on offense,” Hamilton said. “The girls did a real good job of staying in position and our passing was much better tonight. We lost our focus towards the end of the first half and April Burkett made a great save to keep St. Andrews off the scoreboard.
“We did a few different things on offense tonight in order to prepare for Cookeville on Thursday. We will have to make a few more adjustments, but hopefully the girls will be ready for Cookeville. I asked our varsity players to go out and get us that third goal so we could get some of the younger girls in the game and they did a great job.”