PREP GIRLS SOCCER Davis scores four goals; Poland gains regional

The Bulldogs conquered Hubbard, 4-1, to win the Division II district title.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
POLAND -- Sometimes in soccer, the ball bounces the right way.
Saturday night at Poland High, the early bounces led to two of three first-half goals by senior Britt Davis of the Bulldogs, and Poland went on to defeat Hubbard, 4-1, for the Division II district championship.
Davis wound up scoring all four goals, three of them coming on assists by senior Emily Sutcliffe.
The win earns Poland (14-3-2) a trip to regional play for the second straight season. Last year, Poland won the Div. I district championship, while Hubbard (11-9) captured the district championship in Division II.
Decided early
This year, the title game between the two defending champions was decided early by some right bounces by the soccer ball and heads-up play by Davis.
Poland got the first bounce at 33:29 of the first half, when a shot by Sutcliffe hit the right goal post and caromed right back to Davis, who drilled a shot into the back of the net.
Sutcliffe also assisted on the next two goals by Davis.
At the 23:27 minute mark, Sutcliffe's attempted shot hit the top of the Hubbard goal post and bounded to Davis, who headed the ball back into the Eagle goal.
Davis also used her head to score the game's third goal, this time on a crossing pass from Sutcliffe.
"We didn't draw it up that way," said Poland coach Jim Sutman. "But we do practice crossing passes and that is a major part of our offense."
Davis said that execution is the key to making the Poland offense work.
"We work on [crossing plays] all the time," said Davis, who has 14 goals on the season. "Tonight, we just executed to perfection.
"We have a lot of good offensive players who are seniors, and it's hard to stop all of us."
The Bulldogs' offense also features the district player of the year in Krista Ginnetti. Davis added her final goal late in the game on a 25-yard free kick. That goal stopped a second-half rally by Hubbard.
McKee scores
The Eagles got a goal at 29:40 of the second half by Brittany McKee, and saw a second goal by McKee called off because of an off-sides infraction.
The Eagles moved McKee from her usual defensive sweeper position to midfield to help kick-start the Eagle offense.
"She's our best player," said Hubbard coach Dennis Smith of McKee. "Once we got down by three, we moved her up front and tried to get back in the game."
The strategy seemed to work as the Eagles got off some good shots late but were thwarted by Poland goalkeeper Landry Yankle.
"We made some mistakes early," Smith said. "You can't do that in a championship game against a team like Poland."