The Pillow Academy girls soccer squad won its third straight contest with a dominating 4-0 victory over Academy AAAA Division II foe East Rankin Academy at home Thursday.
“Our goal was to see if we could possess the ball better this game and I think we did that tonight,” third-year head coach Amy Coleman said. “At times, we connected on seven to eight passes before looking for the shot.
“The big question right now is can we move the ball like this against a superior team.”
Pillow opened the scoring early 10 minutes into the contest when Sara Presley Howard launched a shot inside the box for a goal. Pillow was able to take a 2-0 lead 15 minutes later when senior Claire Coleman crossed to Georgia Caroline Self who converted.
With seven minutes left in the first half, Howard crossed a nice pass to midfielder Madeline Kelly who launched a rocket past the East Rankin goalie for a 3-0 lead.
Pillow, which played the first half in a new 4-3-3 formation, went back to its 4-4-2 formation in the second half and struggled offensively. The Lady Mustangs were able to score with six minutes left on a nice pass from Coleman to Presley to give them their final 4-0 margin of victory.
“We came out with that old formation in the second half. and I thought we looked terrible,” Coach Coleman said. “The new 4-3-3 where we move Madeline Kelly up to defensive-mid looks so much stronger.”
For the contest, Pillow outshot the visitors 17-2 and had five corner kicks to East Rankin’s one. Senior goalkeeper Jane Rob Pannell collected her third straight shutout for the year.
Pillow defeated ERA 5-0 earlier this season.
The Lady Mustangs, now 3-1 on the season, will open North AAAA Division II action at home next week when they entertain Magnolia Heights Academy.
