Huskies advance past Berkeley Springs in 9-0 victory
Oct. 20—RACHEL — At the start of Tuesday, it looked like all three Marion County soccer programs would be in action. By the end, only one took to the field.
With Petersburg's boys team forfeiting against East Fairmont, and their girls team forfeiting against Fairmont Senior, the North Marion Huskies had sole possession of Tuesday night's spotlight.
Playing at Woodcutters Stadium against the Berkeley Springs Indians (2-17), the Huskies (8-11) made a statement in their first round tournament matchup, winning 9-0.
The Huskies handily defeated Berkeley Springs earlier in the season, and North wasted no time picking up where they left off. The hometown Huskies scored their first goal within a minute of action, and by the 14th minute North Marion had built a 6-0 lead after a goal in close by Dakota Mundell.
Many Huskies got an opportunity to show off their ball-handling acumen Tuesday, taking advantage of any space given to them and maneuvering in close for high-percentage shots, or to set up their teammates.
The North Marion defense was almost never pressured, as the Huskies dominated possession throughout the match.
"Berkeley Springs, hats off to them," North Marion head coach Denny Efaw said. "That's a long drive up here and they've had a tough season with numbers and COVID and everything else. It was an opportunity for us to get some of our younger kids in. Well, a lot of our younger kids are starters, but we got everybody in today, that's a good thing."
Caroline Furbee scored the last goal of the first half, joined by Savannah Walls, Kya Huggins, Bella Haymond, Dakota Mundell, and Lanie Richards, who had two goals at the half. North led 7-0 at halftime. Scoring slowed in the second half, as Efaw had long since emptied his bench.
Huggins scored her second goal of the night around the 50th minute, handling a pass, using one touch to center the ball, and sending a sweeping shot right aside the left post.
Richards followed up her teammate at the 54th minute, securing the hat trick and giving her team a 9-0 lead, where the score would remain until the final buzzer.
"Lanie played great tonight," Efaw said. "She played exceptionally well. Some things we've been trying to implement and she's grasping that and running with it, leading some of the other girls. She did a real nice job."
Now moving on to the sectional quarterfinals, the Huskies should be all warmed up for a rematch against the Fairmont Senior Polar Bears. The Polar Bears downed the Huskies earlier in the season, and the two teams will meet again on Thursday at East-West Stadium.
"We'll see," Efaw said of the upcoming match. "A win's a win in the section, that's always a good thing. The alternative's not good. West side, we played them a couple weeks ago to a 2-1 finish, it was a real good game, a well-fought game. Hopefully this momentum carries in."
Reach Nick Henthorn at 304-367-2548 or by email at nhenthorn@timeswv.com.
