JAY — Mt. Abram wanted to make a statement against Spruce Mountain.
Behind McKenzie Contreras’ two first-half goals, the Roadrunners defeated the Phoenix 6-0 in an MVC girls soccer game Wednesday.
“We had a lot of discussions against Spruce on how we haven’t beaten them like we should have, and we know we are a better team,” Contreras said. “We proved that today.”
The Roadrunners (3-6-1) defeated the Phoenix (0-11) 2-1 at home on Sept. 14.
Mt. Abram coach Andrew Delcourt said the Roadrunners made correct decisions with the ball throughout the game.
“They were making better assessments on the field instead of playing the ball into space,” Delcourt said. “They were making the assessments and making the correct pass.”
The Roadrunners started quickly in the first half when Contreras found the loose ball in the box after a throw-in and put it past Phoenix goalie Tyoaka Hodgkin four minutes in.
Contreras was looking for a teammate on the play.
“When my back is towards the goal, I look for Autumn (Pulk), but I turned and just shot it,” Contreras said.
One minute later, Jenna Osgood fired a shot past Hodgkin after battling for the ball for a 2-0 lead.
The two goals came after Tatum Leclerc had a breakaway chance for the Phoenix to start the game. Spruce Mountain coach Jake Turner said the back-to-back goals didn’t help the Phoenix’ confidence.
“This game is a game of momentum,” Turner said. “They got two pretty quick within a minute of each other and I think morale kind of got defeated after that. It’s hard to recover after two quick goals sometimes. It doesn’t help we are missing three varsity players for various reasons, which are the core of our team. That does hurt, too.”
Midway through the half, Bailea Haines scored for a 3-0 advantage.
Contreras converted on a shot for a 4-0 lead late in the first half.
“She was off the ball fast today,” Delcourt said of Contreras. “Kenzie did a great job today.”
Abby McCarty added to Mt. Abram’s lead in the second half when she had a breakaway and her line drive shot in the box found the back of the net eight minutes in.
“She did great on that breakaway; she had a ton of speed,” Delcourt said. “I was glad to see her finish at the net.”
Hodgkin made back-to-back saves on the Roadrunners’ fifth corner of the second half. She had 10 saves in the game.
“She gives 110 percent every time,” Turner said. “I am really proud of her for that.”
Mt. Abram goalie Jany Pepin stopped six shots in the win.
Celia Rose put home Mt. Abram’s sixth goal into a half-open net in the 32nd minute of the second half.
Turner said the Phoenix have to work on some things going forward.
“We are a young team, and we need to do the little things just a little bit better,” Turner said. “Ball-traps, passing, and we need to get a little bit better in the fundamentals.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
