Niceville girls blank Navarre, 5-0 (SLIDESHOW)
NICEVILLE – Visibility was at a premium during the first half of Wednesday night’s District 1-4A girls’ soccer match between Navarre and Niceville at Twin Oaks.
As the fog that consumed the field for much of the first half lifted, so did the Eagles’ level of play, and they prevailed with a 5-0 victory over the visiting Raiders.
View a slideshow from the game »
Navarre (5-6-6, 2-2-1) dictated the flow of the game from the opening kickoff, but once Niceville (10-2-1, 5-1) got settled they took control and never let go.
“I think we settled down,” Niceville coach Michael Denton said. “The first 10 to 12 minutes they were beating us to the ball. I think it made a huge difference, when we calmed down and settled in.”
The Eagles got on the board in the game’s 19th minute as Kaitlyn Brown knocked in a goal off a cross from Eli Craft.
Both teams played extremely physical in the first half and the score stayed at 1-0 throughout the first 40 minutes.
The Eagles offense took flight in the second half. They tested Navarre goalkeeper Megan Erwin with a barrage of shots to start the half and eventually found success.
Christina Ramirez headed in a Brown corner kick in the 45th minute to make it 2-0 Niceville. Miranda O’Neil beat the Raiders defense for an unassisted goal off the left post to make it 3-0.
Claire Standaert scored on a ball that deflected off that same lucky left post to extend the Eagles’ lead to 4-0 before Brooke Sneller capped Niceville’s second-half offensive explosion with free kick from about 35 yards out that sailed just over the keeper’s hands and into the back of the net.
The Eagles defense was nearly perfect on the night. They held Navarre to just three shots on goal, and though the defense made it look easy, Niceville center defender Savannah Boswell admitted otherwise.
“We just tried to stay tight as a team and really work together,” Boswell said. “I think tonight was more of a difficult game.”
Niceville hosts Choctawhatchee tonight while Navarre returns to action on Friday at Tate.
Follow Pat Flynn on Twitter: @PatFnwfdn
