Published: September 05, 2008 10:25 am      

Perkins scores 4 for Lady Cards

South Laurel blanks Pulaski Co., 4-0

The South Laurel Cardinals exploded out of the gate and managed to hang on for a 4-0 win over Pulaski County on Tuesday night.

Jessie Perkins came to play for the Red and Black as she completed the hat trick with three goals inside the first nine minutes of play.

“I had five people that I sat because of the way they played last night,” Pulaski County coach Brian Elliott said. “Three of the four goals came when they were on the bench. I don’t want to take anything away from the girls I put out there, but when you take out five starters it means a lot.”

After two shots on goal by Shelbi Wilburn and Jasmine Strunk for the Lady Maroons, the Cardinals struck again on another goal by Perkins during the 14th minute of play for the 4-0 advantage.

“Jessie kinda unleashed at the beginning and got four quick goals,” South Laurel coach Kenna Williams said. “I think four goals within ten minutes, but the rest of us just kinda relaxed.”

At the break Williams talked to her team about getting more involved on offense and not just letting Perkins do all the work.

“I wasn’t really happy with our performance because I think we only had two other players with shots in the first half,” Williams said. “So I told them I wanted to see more people involved in the offense.”

Although the Cardinals could not find the net for the rest of the game, the offense did become more aggressive with several shots on goal.

“They did what I said in the second half,” Williams said. “We got more people involved and more shots. I think we got a total of 23 or 24 shots on goal. So we did become more active. We just kicked them right to the keeper.”

Elliott was proud of his teams performance in the second half and thought his keeper Keelin Cunningham played a solid game.

“When I put the starters back in it was a different game,” Elliott said. “They had their chances and we had our chances, but I am real proud of our girls. Our keeper played great and I was pleased with our play all the way around.”