It took a while to get settled in, but once it did the Providence High girls’ soccer team showed great determination Wednesday as the Pioneers earned a 3-1 road victory over host Hoover High.
“This is the first time we have played like a cohesive team,” Providence coach Brie Childers said. “We just had a lot of good teamwork that we’ve been working on. Tonight it clicked. It was awesome to see everyone working together. We had a lot of people who had their best games.”
The host Tornadoes (3-4) looked the stronger of the two sides early on.
Just two minutes in, Hoover freshman Kris Baez took a shot that required a fine save from Providence goalie Gio Garcia-Ribeiro.
Four minutes later Hoover did find the back of the net as Hoover’s Meri Keleshyan fired a right-footed shot into the lower left corner of the Pioneer goal.
But after that, Providence (2-4) began to grow in confidence. Jett Belson had a shot on target for the Pioneers in the 15th minute.
Olivia Sacchetto had a shot that went wide in the 20th minute. She also had a free kick in the 23rd minute that went over the Hoover goal.
Providence finally got on the board in the 26th minute as Mikaylah Malong put home a cross from Mila Bary.
Three minutes into the second half the Pioneers took the lead as Malong fired a left-footed shot that was partially blocked by Hoover goalie Nicole Hatamian, but ended up in the net.
Bary nearly gave Providence a two-goal lead in the 46th minute as she fired a shot that was only stopped thanks to a fine save by Hatamian.
A shot by Jackie Solis later in the 54th minute required another fine save from Hatamian.
Izabella Berggren-Brooks also had a shot for the Pioneers.
The Pioneers took a two-goal lead with eight minutes remaining as a corner kick by Evie Boyd deflected off of a Hoover defender and into the Tornadoes goal.
