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Gryphons outmuscle Knights to move above .500 in Big East

Posted On: Thursday, April 14, 2016
By: Student Assistant
Rocky Mount High's Barkley Browder, left, and Northern Nash's Kelsey Hutchinson fight for the ball Monday during their game at Rocky Mount High School. Rocky Mount High won 6-1.

Rocky Mount High’s Barkley Browder, left, and Northern Nash’s Kelsey Hutchinson fight for the ball Monday during their game at Rocky Mount High School. Rocky Mount High won 6-1.

Rocky Mount High's Sarah Bland, left, charges to the goal against Northern Nash's Macon Rollans Monday during their game at Rocky Mount High School. Rocky Mount High won 6-1.

Rocky Mount High’s Sarah Bland, left, charges to the goal against Northern Nash’s Macon Rollans Monday during their game at Rocky Mount High School. Rocky Mount High won 6-1.

Northern Nash's Rebekah Beal, left, and Rocky Mount High's Aimee Dalsimer battle for the ball Monday during their game at Rocky Mount High School. Rocky Mount High won 6-1.

Northern Nash’s Rebekah Beal, left, and Rocky Mount High’s Aimee Dalsimer battle for the ball Monday during their game at Rocky Mount High School. Rocky Mount High won 6-1.

 

Northern Nash coach Joe McCarthy’s post-game talks are always direct and devoid of excuse-making, and Monday’s was no different.

He had just seen his Knights pegged back in their own half for nearly 80 straight minutes, as Rocky Mount High was faster to every ball and stronger in every tackle.

“(Rocky Mount) was tougher than us, mentally and physically and in every aspect,” McCarthy said. “They wanted it more than us, and until our girls can get tougher or until we can draw that out of them, this is how it’s going to be against the teams in the top half of the conference that have more technical ability than we do.”

The Gryphons parlayed that dominance into 32 shots and a 6-1 win over Northern Nash on Monday, though it could have been far worse if Rocky Mount High had been able to finish and if not for a solid performance from Knights goalkeeper Kaitlyn Michaels.

“We wouldn’t have played the full 80 minutes if not for Kaitlyn,” McCarthy said. “We would’ve been on the bus after 60, but she was really, really good for us. She did all she could.”

Sarah Bland and Erin Cooke scored two goals apiece for Rocky Mount High (10-5, 3-2 Big East), and Audrey Ulrich and Barkley Browder each netted once. The Gryphons led, 3-0, within the first 25 minutes and 4-0 at halftime.

Browder opened the scoring for Rocky Mount High off a corner, and Bland and Cooke each followed with goals. Ulrich scored the Gryphons’ fourth with 9:25 left in the first half, curling a right-footed shot into the top corner past a helpless Michaels.

Bland scored her second by heading in a Browder corner kick in the 60th minute, and Cooke’s second goal, a 66th-minute right-footed rifle from outside the 18-yard box, capped off the scoring for the Gryphons.

“The finishing certainly has not been perfect lately; I’m not sure if it’s nerves or what, but we’ve just been hitting the ball right at the keeper,” Gryphons coach Jordan Musselwhite said. “But that’s something that can be worked on and improved… I was very pleased with the effort and fight today from the girls.”

Rebekah Beal scored Northern Nash’s (12-3, 2-3) only goal nine minutes from time, dribbling past several defenders and scoring with a left-footed finish to end Rocky Mount High’s shutout bid.

Musselwhite saw several other teams, including Southern Nash, stick one defender on Beal and follow her around all night, so he did the same, putting Aimee Dalsimer on the Knights’ all-time leading scorer.

It likely didn’t make much difference. Northern Nash enjoyed only brief spurts of possession, and Beal spent most of the game near the halfway line, waiting for long clearances to bounce her way and hoping to win the ball and beat three or four defenders for any chance at goal.

“We basically threw the book at Beal, with everyone putting in challenges and trying to crowd her out,” Musselwhite said. “With how much of the ball we had, we were able to pretty much keep it away from her and not give them space to give her service.”

Musselwhite raved about the Gryphons’ effort on Monday, but knows there’s more work to be done if they are to steal a win or two from Wilson Fike or Wilson Hunt.

“If the girls can combine that sort of fight and that mentality with a little bit of sharpness in front of goal, then who knows?” Musselwhite said. “We’ve played Fike and Hunt tough once already, so maybe we can beat them next time around.”

 

By Foster Lander
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Monday, April 11, 2016

 

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