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Rocky Mount High’s Sarah Bland attempts a shot in front of the goal Tuesday during the match against Nash Central in the Big East Conference Tournament at Rocky Mount High School.
©TELEGRAM PHOTO / ALAN CAMPBELL
Rocky Mount High’s Barkley Browder, right, deflects a pass by Nash Central’s Krystal Sanchez on Tuesday during the Big East Conference Tournament at Rocky Mount High School.
©TELEGRAM PHOTO / ALAN CAMPBELL
Rocky Mount High’s Sarah Bland turns the ball toward the goal on her way to score the ninth and final goal of the match Tuesday against Nash Central in the Big East Conference Tournament at Rocky Mount High School.
©TELEGRAM PHOTO / ALAN CAMPBELL
Fourty-three minutes. That is what it took for the Rocky Mount High girls team to work through its second round Big East tournament game.
Sarah Bland and Erin Cooke each notched a hat trick against Nash Central in a 9-0 win on Tuesday. Barkley Browder, Carson Browder and Katie Moss knocked in goals of their own in the demonstration.
The Gryphons will host either Wilson Hunt or Wilson Fike on Thursday at 5 p.m. They haven’t won a Big East conference title since 2012.
With the regular season title already in tow, and a 13-4-1 record, Richard Oxendine said the team realizes they are set for a high seed in the state postseason. But that’s really not enough either.
“It is like we told them — these conference tournament games are not really going to affect our playoff. We are in,” Oxendine said. “The question is do we want to stop the momentum.
“And that is the thing. We could say we are going to take it easy, and if somebody else beats us, oh well. But do we want to slow down the momentum as we go forward? No.”
The Gryphons have won their past three games by nine goals. But their offense has been volatile all season with the implementation of a new style.
When Oxendine inherited this team, he saw the pieces, especially at the front end, to rip through defenses. Barkley Browder, Bland and Cooke — all seniors — became the catalyst for it all.
Barkley said people refer to them as ‘The Trio,’ and the three seniors are imperative to launching the attack. Whenever the Gryphons secure the ball, the mission is to get it to Cooke or Barkley, both midfielders. Then, the two either play it off each other or sprint ahead in open space.
Barkley said her two options from there are to either find Carson for a potential cross into the box or find Bland for a through ball.
Either way, the result often turns into a goal. And if it doesn’t, Rocky Mount can pull the ball out and work it around to find that clear avenue. This incredible pace is something the Gryphons didn’t have last year.
“This year has been so much better,” Barkley said. “I think we have relaxed a little bit more, and we realized we don’t have to shoot every time. We can pass around and get a good shot on it.”
In the last few matches, Oxendine said teams have opted to pull players back to clog up the scoring third for the Gryphons. That tactic typically limits the shots for the defending team, and in turn, limits the amount of in-game reps for Rocky Mount goalie Tyasha Arrington.
Would Oxendine like for his goalie to see more action? Yes, especially with Wilson Hunt or Wilson Fike on the docket, two teams that will both push toward the goalie box. He’s not going to change anything about this outrageously successful attack.
That is really how I like the games to go,” Oxendine said. “We want to be winning the ball, and when we get it forward, we do not want to stop.”
By ETHAN JOYCE
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
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