Watauga belts

East Burke 4-1
From staff reports

ICARD — East Burke scored the first goal of its game with Watauga last Thursday. It only seemed to make the Pioneers mad.

Watauga scored the next four goals and claimed a 4-1 victory over the Cavaliers. Watauga plays in the Brittany Willis Memorial Showcase in Wilson this weekend, and the win Thursday gives the Pioneers a little momentum heading into their game Friday against powerful Raleigh Millbrook.

“It was very important to us,” Pioneers coach Doug Kidd said. “In all, our execution was very good and our possession of the ball was good. We limited a lot of their scoring opportunities.”

East Burke struck first when Liz Hawes scored on a penalty kick. But Watauga struck back with a Layla Jones goal off an assist from Amanda Beasley. The goal left the Pioneers tied 1-1 at halftime.

Watauga’s Lucy Binning took over from there. She started with a corner-kick assist to Ashlyn Baird, which put Watauga in front 2-1.

Binning scored the Pioneers’ next goal unassisted, and followed with a goal off an assist from Anna Lisa Hart, giving the Pioneers a 4-1 lead.

“We did a much better job of creating scoring opportunities,” Kidd said. “We still need to do a better job of finishing our chances and connecting on our crosses. We had a lot of crosses that were either going out of bounds or going to their keeper.”

The Pioneers take on Millbrook Friday at 5 p.m. They’ll follow with a game Saturday at 2 p.m. against Fayetteville Southview.