Following a dominating 6-1 victory over division rival Washington School in Greenville, Pillow Academy girls soccer head coach Mary Clare Brock finally feels that her offense is starting to peak.
“Our defense is absolutely the best in the state, and now I can chime in on the improvement of our offense,” Brock said. “We have finally figured out how to finish.”
The offensive prowess of Pillow on Wednesday was led by forwards Sarah Presley Howard with four goals and Caroline Brock with two. The offense had a field day on the small Washington School field, launching 19 shots in comparison to only four by the home team.
Caroline Brock opened the scoring when midfielder Elise Howard crossed a ball into the box that Brock knocked in at the 15-minute mark of the first half. She followed that up three minutes later when Sarah Presley Howard led her with a pass that she was able to knock in.
Brock showed exceptional form in the box, launching two more shots from the top of the box that both hit the crossbar and barely missed. But Sarah Presley Howard was able to give Pillow a 3-0 lead going into halftime when she launched a set kick from 24 yards out.
Howard broke through on a breakaway early in the second half and scored her second goal of the afternoon. Following a surprise goal by Washington a few minutes later, Howard secured a hat trick when she took a Brooke Kimmel pass and scored one with her left foot.
Howard closed out the scoring in the contest with 16 minutes left when she stole the ball and launched a shot that caught the right corner of the net.
Howard’s fourth goal gave her 10 goals in an explosive three-game stretch for the Pillow junior.
Now 6-1-2 on the season and 5-0 in division play, the Lady Mustangs have outscored their opponents 32-5 for the season.
They will host Jackson Prep Tuesday at home on Senior Night. The visiting Lady Patriot squad handed Pillow its only loss of the season, a 1-0 setback last month in Jackson. Brock feels her team has the right attributes to beat Prep for the first time in over a decade next week.
“Guts and teamwork win games, and that’s exactly how we can beat Prep.”
