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Hardy Scores Twice on Her Birthday as Arcadia Beats Glendale: 6-2
Arcadia Weekly Jan 04, 2017
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Article and Photos by Christian Romo
Immediately after their win against Glendale, the Apaches presented Eden Hardy with chocolate milk and balloons, not to thank her for her performance, but to celebrate her seventeenth birthday. Luckily for her, she had plenty to celebrate during the match, as well.
Getting two goals and an assist from Hardy (23), the Arcadia Apaches (8-3-1) beat the visiting Glendale Nitros (3-4), 6-2, Tuesday afternoon at Salter Stadium. Senior Campbell Dopke (14) also recorded two goals and an assist, extending a 2-0 lead in the 17th minute with a hard shot to the top left corner of the goal.
Hardy scores one of her two goals.
“I saw I was in the eighteen [yard box], so I thought I might as well take a shot,” said Dopke. Hardy added her first goal fourteen minutes later dribbling through traffic in the box, and shooting across her body to the bottom left corner. “[We succeeded] moving off the ball and passing. We were finding open balls, and communication was really on today,” said Hardy while trying to balance balloons, empty milk cups, and a birthday poster a teammate gave her.
A goal from Glendale sophomore Meenelly Banoian (17) cut the score to 2-1 in the 27th minute, but a connection from Hardy to Dopke gave Arcadia a three-goal lead right before halftime. The Nitros scored once more on Banoian’s penalty kick in the 60th minute, but the Apaches added two more to secure their third league win.
Senior Campbell Dopke (14) records one of her two goals.
Arcadia hogged possession thanks to defensive pressure and effective passes forward, especially from senior Sarah Guiterrez (2) and junior Serena Rosas (21). “They were all basically just catching in the middle,” said Rosas, “so all we had to do was pass it to the outside. We have speed on the outside.” Coach Ryen Piszyk said his team has focused on possession throughout the season. “We like to have the ball. Our philosophy is that if we have the ball, the other team can’t score.”
Senior Hannah Mushisky (11) opened the scoring in the eleventh minute off a pass from Dopke, and first-year Theresa Gardner sparked the final goal off a long throw-in that wouldn’t have counted had it not been for a failed clearance that sent the ball to the back of the net. “I really like how they fought,” said Piszyk of his team. “They came out a little bit rough, but they kept building and building, and a lot of good things happened.”
Arcadia looks to remain undefeated in league play at Burroughs this Friday at 3:30.
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