LENOIR — The Class 3A state soccer playoffs opened on Monday evening, and Hibriten was on target at Panther Stadium.
The Lady Panthers whipped Central Davidson 7-0.
“Very pleased with our effort,” Hibriten coach Shea Bridges said. “We’ve been building on that all year, with a lot of tough competition. The girls really just stepped up tonight — especially in the first half.”
It was 5-0 at the break.
“We have a real young team, so it’s pretty impressive that we’re able to combine so well,” said senior forward Abby Kidder, who totaled three goals and three assists. “We all get along really well, and I think that has a big part in us connecting out on the field.”
The Lady Panthers (13-4-4) play host to Oak Grove (15-2-1) in Thursday’s second round. Game time is 6 p.m. at William Lenoir Middle School’s facility.
The first half was firmly controlled by Hibriten, which besides the five goals had 10 more shots on goal. Central goalkeeper Rylee Hodge made seven saves.
The soccer ball hardly crossed midfield. Hibriten senior goalkeeper Rylee Conard touched it twice, on lame shots near her area.
Kidder opened the scoring at the 30:25 mark. Shortly thereafter, freshman forward Avery Harris connected on a Harris assist to make it 2-0.
With 12:10 remaining before intermission, sophomore midfielder Bella Hawkins made it 3-0. Harris got her second goal, on another Kidder assist, with 5:10 to go.
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The first half scoring was completed when Kidder scored on a Hawkins assist inside two minutes.
“We were connecting passes, which allowed us to get some other players in to get even more practice with us,” the coach said. “It was a good game.”
Conard made two saves after intermission. Hodge worked for five more.
Kidder’s third goal pushed the cushion to 6-0, on an assist from freshman forward Bryanna Giron at the 24-minute mark.
“I actually went into this game not feeling too great about it,” Kidder said. “ But I surprised myself. So I was in a good mood, and I think that makes me play better.”
The onslaught was capped by junior defender Haley Crowe’s goal with 6:30 to go, with the third assist dished out by Kidder — last spring’s Northwestern 3A/4A Conference offensive player of the year.
“We know what she brings to the table,” Bridges said. “So she wants to continue that her senior season, so that was a fantastic game for her … and all the team.”
Central (8-13-1) had five shots on goal in the second half. Aside from the two scores, Hibriten attacked the goal on eight occasions following the break.
“We’re looking forward to Thursday,” Bridges said. “So we’ll see what happens.”