Hunt heads into round 2 after blanking Croatan

The Hunt High girls soccer team spent the first 25 minutes of Monday’s NCHSAA 3-A opening-round match focusing, concentrating and establishing a foundation for shutting down Croatan’s scoring options, which, said Hunt head coach Richard Frazier, was a main objective.

The rest of the way on the Warriors’ pitch in mild temperatures and under cloudy skies, the Warriors absolutely dominated in claiming a 4-0 win against Croatan of the soccer-strong Coastal 3-A Conference.

“We’re in the playoffs now,” Frazier commented, “and we’re in the survive-and-advance mode. We knew (Croatan) would be very, very well coached, and come out and compete and battle.”

Coming off its fifth consecutive 3-A conference championship, Hunt, seeded No. 4 among the 32 East Region qualifiers, earned a second-round match tentatively scheduled at home against the First Flight-Lee County winner.

After 26 scoreless minutes to open the match, the Warriors collected two goals in each half and the defense of freshman goalkeeper Callie Roundtree, junior Valerie Zarate, freshman Mary Lewin, freshman Emory Honeycutt, senior captain Kate Davis and senior Cappa Bunn denied the Cougars a shot until less than three minutes remained.

Hunt turned to its signature style with senior captain Kate Conoley, freshman Caylee Roundtree, Bunn and junior Natalie Capps each knocking in a goal. Junior Mariah Polk and Conoley each notched an assist.

“We love to share the ball, build it up, make sure we get a touch and have a good rhythm,” Conoley explained. “We did pretty well; we kept the ball very well. We found pockets and got good shots.

“We could have had more goals, but they didn’t fall. We still did a good job of keeping the ball. And they were a decent team.”

Hunt, the only girls soccer champion in the Quad County Conference’s three seasons, hiked its record, while Croatan, the No. 29 seed, closed with a 6-10-1 mark.

“The game plan was to break the game into five-minute intervals,” expressed Croatan head coach Cam Ormsby. “The first half, we were able to do that. But we started to chase the score and individual games. You can’t do that against a team like Hunt.”

Although not scoring the first 26 minutes, the Warriors kept the Cougars’ defense of junior Lily Richards, senior Maddie Grissett, junior Addison Ziegler-schreinar, senior Emma Brubaker and sophomore Landry Clifton busy with a barrage of shots.

But in the 27th minute, Polk worked the ball from the right side to the middle — where Conoley finished with a shot just inside the box for the only goal Hunt would need.

But insurance came less than five minutes later, when Caylee Roundtree handled Conoley’s corner kick and blistered an accurate shot.

In the second half, with 21:17 remaining, Bunn laced a free kick from some 30 yards out that caromed off the Croatan keeper and into the back of the net. Capps finished the scoring with a run some four minutes later.

The Warriors’ performance, for the opening round, pleased Frazier and Conoley, who spent a quiet second half with Hunt basically keeping possession to the opposite side.

“We kept our composure,” Frazier noted. “Once we got the first one to fall, the goals started coming a little easier. The girls came out ready. We played with a little more creativity in the second half.”

Said Ormsby: “We were able to hold them for a while. The girls played for 80 minutes, and I couldn’t be more proud — especially of the seniors.”

Lofty expectations remain alive for a Hunt team that has reached the fourth round of the playoffs each of the previous two seasons.

“We can go there and some more,” Conoley contended.

The Warriors were left with a parting message from Ormsby: “I hope you win it all.”

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