Niles takes down South Range, 8-0, in league contest
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BEAVER TOWNSHIP -- South Range entered Monday's Northeast 8 Conference (NE8) match vs. Niles undefeated, having won its first four contests before drawing with Girard in its last game.
The Raiders could not match the offensive firepower of the two-time reigning conference champion, though, and suffered an 8-0 defeat Monday on their home field.
"I feel that they were very mentally resilient through and through the whole entire game," South Range coach Nina Carolyne said. "I really give a lot of credit to our defensive backs. We're always really good with offside traps, that back line D. ... I just give them a lot of credit because this year versus last year, total difference."
The scoring began early for Niles.
Two and a half minutes after kickoff, Kherington Stanford capitalized on a Raiders defensive mistake and swiftly put the ball past South Range goalkeeper Lilah Angus for the first goal of the match.
The Red Dragons remained active albeit unsuccessful in adding to their lead for much of the next 25 minutes, as they suffered from multiple offsides calls and off-target shots toward the goal.
"They realize that Niles is a really great team and that they have to start off the bat," Carolyne said. "Our first 20 minutes, 25 minutes, it was only 1-0. We held them for almost half of the half, which is huge."
With 12:36 remaining in the first half, a few minutes after South Range had its best offensive opportunity thwarted by an offsides, Stanford finally extended the Niles lead with her second goal of the night. Exactly one minute later, Stanford completed the hat trick on a quick and efficient Dragons attack.
Stanford scored her and Niles' fourth goal with 1:39 to go in the half, when she lifted a long shot above Angus' hands and into the net. Madelyn Yost made it 5-0 with seconds to go before halftime by scoring on a penalty kick.
Stanford scored her fifth and final goal of the night more than 12 minutes into the second half, making it 6-0 and triggering a running clock. Naomi Sheesley and Yost also scored once in the second half, with Yost's second goal coming on another penalty kick.
"They played hard," Niles head coach Scott MacMillan said of the Raiders. "South Range [played] one of the hardest games I've seen them play. Their coach is doing a great job. Their keeper was outstanding."
With the win, Niles improved to 4-0 on the season and 3-0 in NE8 play. The Dragons, who have gone 24 straight league games without a loss, host Girard on Thursday. The Indians were the only team in the NE8 to draw with Niles last season.
South Range (4-1-1) also returns to action Thursday at Hubbard as the Raiders try to add to their win total, which is already twice that of last season.
"[We want] to continue connecting, stay interconnected and for them to keep playing as a team," Carolyne said. "They're playing synchronized way more than they did last year. That is also the mental resilience like I said, and they're playing as a unit."