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YESTERDAY afternoon, the Harvest Christian Academy Eagles and Academy of Our Lady of Guam Cougars made their way to the George Washington soccer field in Mangilao for some IIAAG High School Girls Soccer League action.

Both teams were looking to chalk up another victory in the win column and knew what needed to happen. However, at the end of the match it was the Cougars who came ready and firing on all cylinders that led to earning a 7-1 victory over the Eagles.

“I’m really happy on how we played and I’m happy I was able to finish all my shot-on-goal attempts. My teammates played a big role on the assists. Without assists, I can’t score,” Gemilie Ilao said.

For the first 10 minutes of the game, neither team was able to penetrate through the other’s defense and kept the game scoreless. In the 13th minute of play, the Eagles looked poised to be the first to strike as Phoebe Minato was able to get off a nice left-foot shot. Unfortunately, Minato’s shot sailed right over the crossbar.

Two minutes later, Academy ended the scoreless drought and took a 1-0 lead in the game. Zipping downfield, Gemilie Ilao received a perfectly placed pass and put it right past Harvest goalkeeper Megan Temerowski.

Midway through the first half, the Eagles tried effortlessly to equalize the game and had several golden opportunities. In the 29th minute of play, Elisha Benavente got off an effective shot, but was denied a chance by the Cougar defense.

Academy turned on the heat in the final 10 minutes of the first half as they were able to build a commanding 4-0 lead. Andrea Odell converted two of the three goals, while Ilao picked up her second score of the game in the 37th minute. The whistle signaling halftime was blown before the Eagles could respond to their four-goal deficit.

Returning from the break, the Cougars wasted no time adding to their lead as Olivia Votaw turned a deflection into a goal that gave AOLG a 5-0 lead.

Several minutes later, Harvest finally ended the dry spell when Benavente finally found an opening through the Cougar defense for her team’s first goal.

On the ensuing restart of play, Ilao recorded her hat trick after scoring her third goal of the game for a 6-1 lead.

Despite Harvest’s continued efforts, the Cougar defense proved too strong for the remainder of the game and denied any extra chances for the Eagles to score.

On the offensive side, Academy was able to tag on another goal for a 7-1 lead. When the signal to end play was blown, the Cougars raised their hands in victory after picking up a six-goal win.

“We were hyped up for this game all week. We stuck to the game plan which was to just come in and play,” said Cougars Head Coach Shana Spindel.

Ilao added: “I was really happy on how we played as I was able to finish on all my goals. There was so much help and assists from my teammates.”

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