Knights blow by Cougars

By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
Jan. 28, 2004
COLLINSVILLE West Lauderdale kicked off play in the Class 1A-2A-3A soccer playoffs in grand fashion Tuesday afternoon against South Pontotoc.
Both the Lady Knights (14-4-3) and Knights (21-1-1) tallied 9-1 wins against the Lady Cougars and Cougars in the first round of the playoffs.
The West Lauderdale boys' team needed a bit of a jump start to propel it to a decisive win over South Pontotoc.
After taking a 1-0 lead in the game's 12th minute, the Knights' defense couldn't clear a throw in by the Cougars deep in West Lauderdale's zone.
South Pontotoc forward Andrew Bost tied the game at one by scoring into an open net at the 16-minute mark.
West Lauderdale didn't allow the score to remain tied for long, as Ross McWilliams picked up his first of two goals in the opening half at the 20-minute mark.
McWilliams, who also tallied the final goal of the first half, stole the ball from a Cougars' defender and sent a shot into the right corner of the net for a 2-1 advantage.
Christopher Rodgers, who assisted Anthony Thomas on the team's first goal of the game, tacked on another goal in the game's 30th minute.
Rodgers dribbled through a trio of South Pontotoc defenders at the top of the goal box and ripped a shot into the left side of the net for a 3-1 lead.
Josh Sonak gave the Knights a 4-1 lead at the 33-minute mark firing off a shot with a spin move in the middle of the goal box, and McWilliams gave the team a 5-1 advantage going into halftime.
The Knights didn't slack off in the second half against the Cougars.
Thomas tallied two goals in the opening 14 minutes of the final half to record a hat trick for the game and 7-1 lead.
Josh Herrington and Zac Foreman tallied the final two goals of the game.
The Knights will continue their playoff run against Senatobia on Saturday. West Lauderdale will travel to Senatobia for the game, but a start time has not been set.
W. Lauderdale (girls) 9
S. Pontotoc 1
In the opening four minutes of the girls' match, West Lauderdale watched three crossing passes harmlessly cross South Pontotoc's goal without being able to score.
In the seventh minute, the Lady Knights started to the find the back of the net, something the home team did with regularity in the opening-round playoff game.
Auburn Carlberg, who notched a hat trick in the win, scored the first two goals of the game in a two-minute span.
Carlburg scored her first goal with a turn-around shot inside the goal box, and she tallied her second goal in the game's ninth minute after picking off a goal kick for a 2-0 lead.
Brittany Uhl increased the Lady Knights' lead to 3-0 in the 16th minute.
Rachel Reeves scored from about 25 yards out when her shot skipped into the goal with 21:56 left in the opening half, and Kylie Rowell shot the ball through the South Pontotoc goalkeeper's hands with 21:09 left in the half for a 5-0 lead.
Rowell struck again at the 21-minute mark off a pass from Carlburg, who added her third goal of the game in the 28th minute for a 7-0 lead at the half.
The Lady Knights added two more goals in the first eight minutes of the second half.
Rowell scored her third goal of the game for a hat trick in the game's 42nd minute, and Uhl notched a goal in the 48th minute.
South Pontotoc's Jessi Ray tallied the visiting team's lone goal on a breakaway in the 65th minute.
The Lady Knights continue their playoff run against Greenville St. Joseph's on Saturday. West Lauderdale will travel to St. Joe's for the game, but a game time has not been set.