Polk County’s total time playing without a lead in Thursday’s playoff matchup with Piedmont Community Charter?
46 seconds.
It took Reeve Carroll that long to score the Wolverines’ first goal. She added two more, as did both Kenley Savaia and Gabby Savaia, as Polk County rolled to a 7-1 victory in a 3A second-round match in G.M. Tennant Stadium.
Get PolkSports delivered to your inbox
Sign up for our free newsletter →
The Wolverines (15-2-4) will undoubtedly face a stiffer test Monday when Trinity visits for a third-round match. The Bulldogs (13-2-4) topped East Surry 2-1 in their second-round clash and will enter having won five of their last six matches.
Polk County would certainly take a repeat effort. The Wolverines scored four times in the first 17 minutes and built a 6-0 halftime lead, that sealed when Carroll scored for a third time in the opening half with 17 seconds remaining.
Piedmont Community (9-8) found a bit of defensive footing late in the first half and did stem the Wolverine tide a bit. Polk still upped the lead to 7-0 early in the second half as Gabby Savaia scored in the 49th minute. But the Patriots held firm from them on, and that effort was rewarded in the 70th minute with a goal off a corner kick.
Nearly all of Polk’s starters had long departed W.J. Miller Field by then. They kept it entertaining while on it.
Polk struck for the first time not long after the opening whistle’s echo faded away. Carroll played a pass down the right flank to Gabby Savaia, who corralled the strike in the corner and returned the ball to Carroll high atop the penalty area.
The sophomore dribbled past two defenders and reached the six-yard stripe before unloading a drive into the top of the net. First minute, 1-0, and also Savaia’s 25th assist of the season, a new Polk single-season mark.
Carroll made a similar foray through the opposite side of the Patriot defense in the 13th minute, this time going deep into the corner before hitting a perfect cross to Kenley Savaia all alone at the back post. Savaia had time to trap the ball, target the net and easily find it, upping Polk’s lead to 2-0.
A spot-on pass from Kenley Savaia set up the next goal, her low roller finding Gabby Savaia at the top of the penalty area between two defenders. The Wolverine senior kept coming down the middle, eventually hitting a left-footed strike from the six into the right corner of the net for a 3-0 advantage.
Carroll struck again in the 17th minute, and Kenley Savaia made it 5-0 in the 28th minute off a cross from Charley Dusenbury. Carroll’s goal just before the half was the 50th of her career, set up by a give-and-go with Gabby Savaia and again some dribbling past defenders before scoring from point-blank range.
The Wolverines would make it 7-0, then would largely enjoy the rest of the cool evening, knowing tougher tests await.
