It took only 90 seconds for Byron-Bergen to score and they didn’t stop in their 7-1 girl’s soccer rout of Oakfield-Alabama/Elba. Senior Miriam Tardy netted four goals with one assist while fellow-senior Kelsey Fuller racked up one goal and four assists in the contest.
Tardy opened the offensive onslaught as she pounced on a loose ball after she blocked a clearing attempt by the Hornets goalkeeper and had a wide-open net to shoot at.
Tardy gave the Bees a 2-0 lead at 30:08 after taking a feed from Fuller, who found the net herself less than two minutes later after moving down the left wing and dribbling around two defenders to make it 3-0.
After allowing a goal, Byron-Bergen made it 4-1 with one second remaining in the first half as Fuller sent a long-lead pass behind the defense where Tardy chased it down and beat the clock.
Senior Julianna Amesbury grabbed a through-pass from Fuller less than five minutes into the second half and converted to make it 5-1 Bees.
Tardy netted her fourth goal of the game in the 47th minute, again using her speed to break from the pack to chase down a long lead pass from senior Melissa MacCowan and score.
Fuller registered her fourth assist in the 70th minute as she fed sophomore Ella VanValkenburg in the left corner with a perfect cross for the redirect goal.
“We just tried to move off the ball and pass a lot and try to get open for each other to make room and send her (Tardy) because she is ungodly fast,” Fuller said after the game.
“Most of the people from last year are the same as this year – we lost a few girls, but we also gained a few key people,” Tardy said. “We practiced yesterday stringing together passes and that really helped in today’s game.”
“Ever since we’ve been on varsity, we’ve lost sectionals (in the) second round every single year, so we are trying to push ourselves because we want to make past that and win sectionals and go farther – that’s our goal,” Fuller summarized.
They are tied atop the Genesee Region standings at six wins with Wheatland-Chili and defending state champion Kendall and Holley close behind.
