Wolverines blow past Mountain Heritage, 9-0, for windy win
Strong winds whipped through Wolverine Stadium Friday evening. Polk County’s offense did the same to Mountain Heritage.
The fourth-ranked Wolverines bounced back from Wednesday’s loss to Hendersonville with an offensive frenzy, hammering the Cougars 9-0 in a mercy rule-shortened Western Highlands Conference match.
Ally Picone scored 56 seconds into the second half to give Polk its ninth goal and end the game – under North Carolina High School Athletic Association rules, a game is called once a team leads by nine goals. The Wolverines came ever so close to ending the match in the final minutes of the first half, but quickly did so after halftime.
“The girls did a good job,” said Polk County head coach Lennox Charles. “I think they saw that this team wasn’t going to put any pressure on them, that they could get the ball under control and get the ball to their feet and take their time. They weren’t under pressure all the time as they were the other night.”
Polk County (9-3, 4-1) dominated play from the outset, the ball rarely leaving the Heritage side of the field. After several close calls, the Wolverines finally scored with 24:58 left in the half on a Lyric Flood free kick, set up when Sammie Firby was fouled while dribbling through the middle of Heritage’s defense.
Three minutes later, Szonja Pinter added another goal, moving into the box and chipping a shot past the oncoming Cougar goalkeeper. Talia Petoia then scored less than a minute later, and the floodgates were open:
- with 12:22 left in the half, defender Jamie Greene, playing up front, bounced a shot in off the left post from the right wing
- Ashley Love pushed a shot past the keeper from the right side at the 11:36 mark
- Love dribbled into the middle of the box and rocketed a shot into the back of the net with 6:26 left in the half
- Another defender, Leigh Deaver, scored off a rebound from her own shot at the 5:39 mark
- Cassidy Campbell took a nice pass from freshman Rhian Alley and knocked home the final goal with 4:48 left in the half.
Five goals in less than eight minutes, eight goals in a span of 20 minutes.
Picone then ended the game almost immediately after the second-half whistle, taking a pass from Kara Overholt, driving down the left side and nailing a low shot into the right corner.
Alley had two assists, with Pinter, Greene and Campbell also adding assists.
The Polk County junior varsity traveled to Burns and came home with a 0-0 tie.
Both teams are back in action on Monday, hosting Madison in another WHC game.
