By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
SUAMICO — Freshman Mallory Herber has been playing high school soccer for a little more than a week.
Herber made the biggest impact on her home turf scoring two goals, as the Bay Port girls’ soccer team defeated Pulaski 3-0 in a Fox River Classic Conference game May 11 at Bay Port High School.
“We were able to utilize lots of bodies tonight,” said Brooke Mraz, Bay Port head coach. “They are looking to build each day. We are possessing the ball beautifully and trying to get our new kids to keep learning our diamond midfield and learn the system.”
The Pirates got looks early and often as they pressed the offensive end of the field.
In the 13th minute, senior Hailey Kane sent a cross to Lauren Bradley who put in the first goal of the night.
The Red Raiders were back on their heels for much of the first half.
They registered their first shot on goal in the 21st minute when Lydia Pratt missed slightly wide of the mark.
With 10 minutes remaining until halftime, Herber was the recipient of a ball that got deflected from a corner kick in front of the net.
Pulaski goalie Ella Sasse couldn’t make the clean save, and Herber calmly kicked the ball into the back of the net to give Bay Port a 2-0 lead.
“The game is one of inches,” Mraz said. “You can never get complacent. We had a ball go our way to give us a cushion heading into the last 45 minutes.”
Herber added to her career night six minutes into the second half.
The Pirates’ midfielders broke away from the Pulaski defenders, and Herber again snapped off a shot that found the back of the net for a 3-0 advantage.
“I’m thankful for Coach Mraz,” said Herber. “Coming in as a freshman, I was determined to get playing time and make a difference on this team.”
Herber could have easily added to her total, but she hit the crossbar in both the 65th and 76th minutes.
Bay Port closed out the game with goalie Holly Vieau making a save to preserve the shutout.
“With the nature of the season, it’s not getting ahead of ourselves,” Mraz said. “We want to get better each day and then hopefully, build that momentum going into June.”
Box score:
Pulaski: 0, 0 — 0
Bay Port: 2, 1 — 3