SALISBURY — It took a while, but Salisbury eventually got it going against R-S Central in the first round of the 2A girls soccer playoffs.

Katie Bullock put the Hornets ahead 1-0 at the midway point in the first half on a rebound that bounced outside the 18-yard box. It was the first of her two goals in the half. Salisbury, seeded 10th in the 2A West, also got goals from Julia Honeycutt and Emily Mann to cruise to a 4-0 shutout of  No. 23 R-S Central.

“I think we came out with some nervous energy,” Salisbury coach Matt Parrish said. “It seemed like several of our balls early were heavy. Just like the right ball in the right space at the right time, but just a bit too much thunder behind it, maybe amped up a little bit too much.

“Once we hit the 7-, 8-, 9-minute mark, we settled in a little bit and started moving the ball around pretty well and got them on their heels and got them to move backward.”

The first score by Bullock helped ease the tension. Honeycutt then blasted a ball from the right side off a shortsided free kick from Ceci Cardelle to the far post just three minutes later for a 2-0 lead. Mann took advantage of a bobbled ball by goalkeeper Hannah Hooper right in front of the net two minutes after that for a 3-0 lead.

Bullock sealed it with less than four minutes till the break with a turn-around shot from just outside the box that snuck inside the left post. She was surrounded by teammates as the Hornets were quickly ahead by four.

“It takes time for this team to get together, but once we get on it, it gets going,” Bullock said.

She had a shot at a hat trick in the final minute of the first half. Hooper came out to the edge of the box and was whistled for a foul trying to break up a play. Bullock lined up the penalty kick as the seconds ticked down to zero. Though, isn’t wasn’t rushing the kick that led to a miss.

“Actually, I felt I got overconfident because we worked on penalty kicks in practice,” Bullock said. “I just leaned back too much and sent it straight through the field goal [uprights].”

The Hilltoppers had a few chances in the second half to get on the board. Kenley Wilson, R-S Central’s leading scorer, crossed the ball from the left side and found the foot of Karsyn Kearns. The shot was wide left. Kearns later had a free kick from 35 yards out sail right at the net, but Salisbury goalkeeper Juliana Anderson was there to make the easy catch.

Despite the season-ending shutout, Hilltoppers coach Scott Rumfelt wasn’t discouraged.

“We hadn’t been to the playoffs a lot, and this team is young,” he said. “We lost some key leaders to injuries and others to academic problems. …I thought maybe at the half, the best case would be 1-0, maybe 2-0 at worst.

“I thought we stood around a lot and watched them play. We played a lot harder in the second half, and I’m pleased with that.”

The Hornets advanced to the second round, where they play the winner of the No. 7 Shelby vs. No. 29 West Wilkes matchup. That first-round contest is at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Parrish, however, is preparing for a showdown with the Golden Lions.

“They are a quality program, and they have been since my 15 years in North Carolina,” Parrish said. “Their coach [David Steeves] is a quality coach. Steeves knows what he’s doing, and his girls will come to play. They’ll come to play for 80 [minutes], for 100, for 110, whatever it takes.

“…We know we have our work cut out for us, but then again we’ve been in this spot before.”