Staff report

THOMASVILLE – Salisbury head soccer coach Matt Parrish attributed Tuesday’s 3-2 win at East Davidson to belief and hope.

Maddie Crabb also was helpful. She scored all three Salisbury goals in what figures to be one of the best Central Carolina Conference games of the season.

Addie Griffith and Liz Escobar had assists for the Hornets (4-2-1, 3-1).

Crabb’s first goal came in the first two minutes. She had two goals after 10.

But the Golden Eagles came back to level the match at 2-all at the break.

The second half was highly contested and a back-and-forth affair.

The deciding goal came with just under 15 minutes left when Escobar slipped the ball to Crabb, who patiently deposited the game-winner.

“I am so proud of the girls,” Parrish said. “Without warning, I sat them down during warmups and we introduced a new lineup, with a formation I’ve never run, ever. (Assistant coach) Landon Goodman and I walked the players through nuances and expectations, and they absolutely bought in and executed the game plan. We had season-best performances from so many players.

“Cora Wymbs, Mariana Zapata, Liz Escobar and Tiffany Huerta were magnificent in the midfield. Stella Koontz, Lola Koontz and Meredith Williams ran a brand-new system in the back and were stupendous. Freshman Taylor Brown has  been thrown into the fire as a freshman keeper and really responded. Stephany Quintero and Addie Griffith applied pressure to ED’s backline all night and Maddie Crabb was terrific.”

It was the best effort of the season for the Hornets. East Davidson (6-3, 2-1) has been playing very well.

“Hope is a dangerous thing on the field,” Parrish said. “So is belief. We had both. Add some heart and guts and we have a very solid win against a very dangerous opponent. Super, super hyped to be a part of it.”

•••

GRANITE QUARRY — East Rowan won 1-0 against Carson in Tuesday’s South Piedmont Conference match.

Leanna Rojas scored the goal for the Mustangs (4-7, 1-3).

East head coach Andrew Poston said it was the first win for East against a county opponent in a league game (that would include quite a few matches against Carson, South and West) since April 18, 2018.

Carson (0-6, 0-3) is scheduled to take on South Rowan on Thursday.

•••

KANNAPOLIS — Meleny Ballesteros scored for A.L. Brown (8-2, 0-1) in a 2-1 overtime loss to Hickory Ridge (3-2-3, 2-0) in Greater Metro Conference action on Tuesday.