Bella Gill’s hat trick leads Stratford back to semifinals

First, Bella Gill’s two goals moved Stratford into the lead during Saturday’s GHSA Class A girls soccer quarterfinal against Mount Pisgah.

Then, she put the game away.

The Eagles forward had a hat trick on Saturday at Hays Field in a 5-1 victory, powering Stratford to the semifinal round against Fellowship Christian.

Gill’s pair of goals gave the Eagles a 2-0 halftime lead. While her first two goals gave the Eagles the lead, her third protected the advantage and went a long way to sealing the win.

Less than a minute after a second-half goal by Mount Pisgah (11-5-0), Gill’s score from the right side made it 3-1 with 34:26 to go in the match. The Eagles (16-0-0) pulled away from there, tacking on two more goals for the final margin.

FIVE WHO MATTERED

Gill: The forward lived up to the notion of big-time players stepping up in the postseason. She made the Patriots pay for not attending to loose balls on their own end of the field on her first two goals, and her final score demoralized the opposition less than a minute after the Patriots had trimmed to lead to 2-1.

Emory Sutherland: Her assist on the game’s first goal gave the Eagles the lead less than 15 minutes in, and she got into the scoring herself in the second half to make it a 4-1 lead for Stratford with 21:37 to play.

Ellie Peterson: An active effort all over the offensive end of the field also paid off in the scoring column. She moved herself into the prime position to play an indirect kick from Lizzi Clayton, and the game’s fifth goal was the result.

Carolynn Dromsky: The Eagles’ goalkeeper held the hard-shooting Patriots off the scoreboard other than one shot, anchoring Stratford’s defensive effort.

Ansley Diamond: The Mount Pisgah center was responsible for the only Patriots goal, cutting the Eagles lead to 2-1 briefly.

WORTH MENTIONING

Staying with it: Stratford’s conditioning and stamina was evident late in the game, with Mount Pisgah showing more signs of fatigue. The Eagles will need a similar late-game energy in Tuesday’s semifinals.

THEY SAID IT

Stratford head coach Kate Blankenship on reaching the semifinal round: “There’s a lot of talented teams in this state in single A. We’re very fortunate to be successful and get back to the final four.”

Blankenship on Gill’s play: “Bella did great, she executed and finished. It was a whole team effort getting it up there and getting the opportunity to be in that position to score those goals.”

Blankenship on the defensive plan: “We just played our game, we just worked real hard to be disciplined and be organized in the back across the board.”

WHAT’S NEXT

Stratford will play Fellowship Christian in a semifinal on Tuesday. The home field will be determined by a coin toss.

This story was originally published May 7, 2016 at 9:25 PM with the headline "Bella Gill’s hat trick leads Stratford back to semifinals."