Ava Hijma, who scored Midway’s only goal, attempts to work into scoring position.
Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent
The Midway Lady Raiders were on their home field for the first time this season on Monday night, taking on non-conference opponent South Johnston out on the soccer field. This was the second time the two teams squared off, the first of which yielded a 4-1 victory for Midway. This time around, though, the Lady Trojans flipped the script on the Lady Raiders, getting a 3-1 victory.
The Lady Trojans got off to a hot start in the first half, getting a quick goal in the opening minutes. The action then went back-and-forth for a little while, though South Johnston maintained most of the momentum. With that, the Lady Trojans were able to work their way deeper into Midway territory. After drawing a foul inside the box, South Johnston tallied another goal on a penalty kick, going up 2-0 with about 20 minutes to go before the half.
Down the final stretch of the first half, the Lady Raiders found a little spark, but outside of a ball off the top crossbar, they had nothing to show for it, trailing 2-0 at halftime.
When play resumed in the second half, the contest was very much a back-and-forth affair. Neither team really gained the upper hand, though Midway was looking a little more aggressive.
The Raiders’ efforts paid off at the 15:37 mark when Midway crashed the goal and finally got a ball through to the net. This one was to the credit of Ava Hijma, who got in close to bring her team back to within 2-1.
The Lady Raiders continued to battle, seemingly riding a wave of motivations following their goal. A couple minutes later, they went on the attack again, getting another flurry of shots on goal. Midway cleaned up a rebound and sent another shot back, but it missed to the right, leaving the score at 2-1.
Then at 6:40, the Lady Raiders got another shot on goal, but the shot deflected off the tips of the goalkeeper’s fingers and went careening over the back of the goal. Midway’s ensuing corner kick hit the side of the goal and the Lady Raiders were denied the tying attempt.
With 3:23 left in the game, the Lady Trojans added one final goal to take home the 3-1 victory, giving South Johnston their first win of the season.
The Raiders are now 1-3 on the season and will be back at home on Wednesday when they host Harnett Central.