By By STEVE FRANKLIN, Sports Writer
JACKSONVILLE - The Lady Pam Pack isn’t in any hurry to see Jacksonville join the Coastal Conference in 2009.
For the third straight season, Washington was eliminated in the opening round of the 1A East Region playoffs by Jacksonville, falling to the Cardinals 7-2 on Tuesday evening.
The Cardinals’ scoring parade began in the first ten minutes as Brittany Padilla headed in a corner kick from Britney Joiner.
Midway through the first half, Jacksonville made it 2-0 as Stephanie Spring broke into the open and received a perfect pass from Jessica Barton. Spring raced up field 20 yards and dribbled a shot past Pam Pack goalie Ashley Crompton.
In the 34th minute, the Cardinals added their third goal of the half as Barton corralled a rebound off of a Crompton save and snuck it past the Washington goalkeeper.
Jacksonville out-shot the Washington 24-1 in the first half.
“They’re a great team,” Crompton said. “When a team has it, they have it, and (Jacksonville) has it. They can score from anywhere.”
The second half started the same way the first 40 minutes ended - with the Cardinals firing a glut of shots at Crompton.
The Cardinals made it 4-0 in the 47th minute as Joiner received a crossing pass from Padilla and pushed it by Crompton. Twenty-four seconds later, the duo connected again, on a similar looking play to make it 5-0 on Joiner’s second goal.
The onslaught continued for the next 20 minutes as Jacksonville got goals from Spring and Tiffany Gee in the game’s final 25 minutes, to build a 7-0.
But as they’ve done all season, the Lady Pam Pack never quit.
With nine minutes left in the contest, Washington’s persistence finally paid off.
As Haylee towe raced up field, and broke into the penalty box, she was pushed from behind, setting up a Pam Pack penalty kick. On the free opportunity, Blaine Prescott, one of three seniors playing in their final game for Washington, ripped a shot past Jacksonville goalie Kerrin Hall for her final varsity goal.
Then in the final 30 seconds, the Pack scored for a second time as Beth Batchelor hit Stowe on a crossing pass and Stowe buried a shot past Hall.
Despite the lopsided score, Crompton and Prescott each turned in solid defensive performances. Crompton made 33 saves, while Prescott made five non-goalie stops. The Cardinals out-shot the Pam Pack 46-5.
The Pam Pack end the season with a 9-10 record, while Jacksonville (14-6-1) will take on the winner of today’s game between Aycock and Currituck.