Girls soccer: Lola Hathorne, Mia Mackrey shine for King's in playoff rout of Saint Andrew's
Lola Hathorne and Mia Mackrey are having a better week than Lionel Messi.
While Messi’s been mysteriously out during Inter Miami’s global soccer tour that’s become a public-relations black eye, Hathorne and Mackrey dazzled the crowd at St. Andrew’s on Tuesday night in the first round of the 3A state girls soccer regionals.
Hathorne scored three goals and Mackrey added two — all in the first half — as King’s Academy took a 5-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 7-0 drilling of the host Scots.
Hathorne, a sophomore, also added a brilliant assist in the second half, deking and slithering through a triple team to cross the ball in front for Coco Joos, who made it 6-0 with 18:14 left. Sophia Cueto added the seventh goal in extra time to complete the shutout.
In the regional semifinals, King’s Academy faces on Friday powerhouse Benjamin, the state’s second-ranked team in 3A, which beat King’s in the District 11 tournament. As bad luck would have it, Hathorne may miss the contest to attend her brother’s wedding.
But Hathorne and Mackrey, a freshman whose mother, Bridget, coaches the team, will always have Tuesday night on Jog Road when it routed its rivals by a touchdown.
“The two of them have been playing club ball since they were little," coach Bridget Mackrey said. “They just know each other and know the way they play. If one’s feeding, one’s finishing. If the other one’s feeding, the other one’s finishing. They know where each other is at any given moment. It’s an in sync intuition the two of them have."
Five minutes into the contest, Mackrey got King’s Academy on the board when a booming lefty kick from the left wing knocked off the far-side post and bounced in. Three minutes later, Hathorne scored from in-close off a feed from Deionce Storey for a 2-0 lead.
The rout was on. Hathorne banged in two 25-yarders for a 4-0 bulge before Mackrey got another one past St. Andrew’s senior goalie Jessica Novak with 2:05 left for a 5-0 first-half bulge.
“We came to play," said Mackrey, a Long Island native who played Division I soccer at Hofstra. “We were prepared. We kept the ball 90% of the time and won every 50-50 battle. The skill level took over and it was great finishing."
Indeed, St. Andrew’s barely had territorial control as its top scorer, Katherine Goodman, who had 20 goals this season, got shut down with only a couple of shots toward the net. No other Scots player had more than four goals so it’s usually Goodman or bust for the home squad.
St. Andrew’s, which won the District 12 3A title and got to host the contest, finishes at 8-5-2.
“For our team, it was a huge thing to be district champions," Scots coach Lauren Reilly said. “We weren’t expected to. But credit to them. They showed up tonight and wanted it more. It showed. They came really disciplined and ready for it. We couldn’t get too much going."
Hathorne, who lives in Loxahatchee, demonstrated elite ball-control skill and put on many pretty moves to get through defenders. Her best play wasn’t her goals but a pass after three defenders were blanketing her. Hathorne maneuvered past them for space to deliver the long feed for Joos.
“That was a good ball," Hathorne said. “I’m happy Coco said something. She yelled at me. I looked up and passed it to her."
“She’s a special player, very technical," Mackrey said. “Lola works very hard on off days, she works hard every day. She lives and breathes soccer. It definitely shows."
A perfectionist, Hathorne wasn’t overly impressed with her outing. “I’m happy with the results but it wasn’t a good game," Hathorne said. “I was just in the right places at the right time. I got to finish the opportunities I got."
Mackrey and Hathorne were hot but it was a cold, 50-degree, windy night in Boca. With the outcome all but decided in the second half, King’s Academy players were more concerned with keeping warm on the sidelines, some wrapped in blankets. “Does anyone have a jacket?" one Lions player asked.
King’s Academy has its hands full next with Hathorne expected to be missing for mighty Benjamin. There are only two seniors on the team so the freshman Mackrey will have to play the game of her life.
“We know what they have," the King’s Academy coach said. “We’ll literally give it our best. The dynamic of our team is spectacular. They love each other on and off the field. This year has been a real special year."
Reilly said of Hathorne: “It went through her. She’s a great player. It’s a scary team moving forward."
Girls Soccer
Region Quarterfinal Results
Berean Christian 2, David Posnack 1
Jupiter Christian 4, All Saints Academy 0
American Heritage-Delray 3, St. Brendan 2
Benjamin 8, Trinity Prep 0
St. John Paul II 6, Holy Trinity Episcopal 1
Somerset-Canyons 3, Somerset Academy 0
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Lola Hathorne, Mia Mackrey shine for King's in playoff rout of St. Andrew's
