Alonda Acosta battles for possession of the loose ball.
After enduring a tough soccer season, the Midway Lady Raiders are set to conclude the 2024 season on a high note. After taking another close loss on Monday, and pending one more game on Friday, Midway celebrated Senior Night in grand fashion on Tuesday by posting a nice win over St. Pauls, 5-0.
The Lady Raiders welcomed the Lady Red Devils of Red Springs into Tommy Sloan Stadium on Monday night, setting the stage for an intense battle for second place in the Southeastern Athletic Conference. Midway was trying to bounce back from a 1-goal loss at Red Springs in overtime last week but instead it was another 1-goal heartbreaker this time around as the Lady Devils secured victory for the sweep.
The Lady Raiders applied pressure early and had control of the ball for most of the first half. They had plenty of chances to score but just couldn’t find the back of the net. Red Springs had a few chances themselves, though, but the Midway goalkeeper was up for the test.
The rest of the first half saw Midway continue to generate a few a chances but the Lady Raiders just couldn’t net a score. At the end of the first half, the Lady Devils had a breakaway chance but time expired before they could get the shot off, keeping it 0-0 at halftime.
Midway started the second half much like the first having multiple chances to secure a goal. Still, they had nothing to show for it. That finally changed, though, when Sophia Bryan took a corner kick pass and knocked the ball in to give the Lady Raiders the lead at 1-0 with 25:31 left in the game.
They continued to pressure Red Springs and had more opportunities to add to their lead. They just couldn’t find another answer. The Lady Red Devils started to gain better possession which turned into some chances of their own. They were rewarded with a free kick after a Midway yellow card and succeeded in tying the game up with 11:53 left.
Red Springs continued to maintain possession and would get rewarded with a penalty kick with 3:33 left in the game. Again they capitalized and went up 2-1.
Though the Raiders had a few chances to tie the game back up, including a free kick, they could not capitalize as the Lady Devils secured the win at 2-1.
Celebrating Senior Night festivities on Tuesday, Midway welcomed St. Pauls in for the regular season finale of their 2024 home schedule. After a long run of games ending in losses, the Lady Raiders were looking to get back into the win column. That’s exactly what happened as they posted a nice win over their conference foe, staking a 5-0 victory.
Midway started out dominating time of possession and had several chances to score. In a continuation from the night before, they initially could not find the back of the net. That was until Rachel Eldridge connected on a shot on goal with 27:50 left in the first half to make it 1-0 Raiders.
That score remained the same as both teams had a few more offensive chances but just couldn’t capitalize. Midway, though, would find the back of the net with 1:49 left in the half, this time off the foot of Alondra Acosta to make it 2-0 Lady Raiders at halftime.
Midway came out of the break and dominated the second half just like they did the first. Emma LaMirand took a Lady Bulldog’s turnover and found the back of the net to make it 3-0 with 26:52 left in game.
Then the Lady Raiders struck again when Hailey Happel scored with 21:28 left in the game to make it 4- 0.
They scored one final time when Rachel Eldridge tallied again to make the score the final of 5-0.
With these two games past them, Midway is now 2-14-1 overall and 2-4-1 in conference play.
The Lady Raiders were scheduled to close the regular season out with a trip to St Paul’s on Friday night.