Bishops struggle, but win

Class AA-A Girls' Soccer

Heavy lies the head that wears six crowns.

With apologies to Shakespeare, Bishop England's girls' soccer team is learning that lesson. The Bishops struggled against Academic Magnet before scoring twice late in the first half, and they went on to post a 4-0 victory in the Class AA-A Lower State semifinals.

With the win, Bishop England (14-7-1) advances to Monday's Lower State championship game at Waccamaw, the state's top-ranked team in Class AA-A.

Academic Magnet (9-7) pressured the Bishops early and played them even for most of the first half.

But in the 35th minute, Lizzy Daly took a pass from Elizabeth Miller and put the ball over the head of goalkeeper Bridgid Kelley from about 18 yards out to put Bishop England on top, and Miller knocked a loose ball into the net about two minutes later to make it a 2-0 game. Those were the breaks the Bishops needed.

"We played very good soccer for the first 35 minutes," said Academic Magnet coach Troy Bennage. "Once they were able to relax and knock the ball around like they usually do, we had to make adjustments. That got us out of form and put them in better form."

Bishops coach Dave Snyder said the victory was another valuable lesson for his 28-player squad that includes just two seniors.

"Some of our players are still learning their roles as leaders," he said, "and some of the younger ones are trying to figure out what it takes to win state. This is still a learning experience for our kids."

Daly headed in a corner kick from junior Tess Gillis early in the second half to make it 3-0. Miller, a sophomore, closed the scoring by hammering in a penalty kick.

Junior goalie Erika Christensen stopped all four shots the Raptors put on goal.