Manchester at Point Beach

 On a windy day in Point Pleasant, Point Beach (5-2) dominated Manchester (4-3) 4-0 in a non divisional matchup.  The Garnet Gulls controlled the ball with their passing and speed up front and applied a lot of pressure on the Hawks defense and junior goalie Kaia Buckley throughout the game. 

Point Beach was able to strike early when freshman Bailiegh Johnson scored her first goal, a blast from about 20 yards out to go up 1-0. Manchester's offsides trap and strong defense led by junior Emily Ruff, kept the Gulls at bay for the majority of the first half. Buckley came up with some big saves, a couple point blank to keep the Hawks in the game. 

"The wind was a big factor and we wanted to put as much pressure as we could early," Point Beach coach Adam Curtis said. "They held us to two goals and their goalkeeper played phenomenal."

The Gulls were able to strike again in the 32nd minute when sophomore Morgan Zylinski headed a perfectly placed corner kick from sophomore Samantha Miles to make it 2-0 going into the second half.

Point Beach opened the second half as aggressive as the first half and Johnson, who just missed a shot over the post, connected on a blast from about 20 yards in the 48th minute.  Two minutes later sophomore Gabby Kirchner scored on an empty net after Johnson headed the ball past Buckley who tried to come out to save the ball to make it 4-0. 

"It was a tough one because their defenders were hard," Johnson said. "My team getting it into the box makes it easier. She (Kirchner) is so energetic and always chasing the ball all around and she makes my job a lot easier having a player like that."

The Garnett Gulls were able to control majority of the possession after that and the few chances Manchester was able to create, their defense and senior goalie Morgan Highland were able to handle. 

"We moved the ball around well and stayed compact in the second half, which was key because they could not get anything long or through the middle," Curtis said. "We were able to counter them a couple times to get those two more goals."

Player of the Game - Point Beach Bailiegh Johnson who had 2 goals and 1 assist. She controlled up front for Point Beach and created several more scoring chances. 

"She is very strong on the ball and has good footskills," Coach Curtis said. "She has good presence on top to hold onto the ball and has good pace ability to take people on."