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Columbia's Mia Brasel dribbles between Santa Fe defenders on Thursday night. (JORDAN KROEGER/Lake City Reporter)
It took Mia Brasel less than a minute to find the back of the net for Columbia on Thursday night.
It was a sign of good things to come for the Tigers in their first game back from winter break.
Brasel finished the night with two goals, while Carla Medina-Rodriguez, Zoey Roberts and Zoe Bulock each added one apiece to lead Columbia to a 5-0 win over Santa Fe in the team’s first game at Tiger Stadium this season following the track’s resurfacing. All seven of the Tigers’ wins this season have come via shutouts and all with goalkeeper Penelope Wheeldon in the net, who finished with four saves Thursday to help deliver a fourth straight victory.
“I’m actually very pleased,” Columbia head coach Chip Garner said. “It’s not often you come back from break and you don’t miss a beat. We did have several go off to a camp and just play in a tournament down in South Florida for their club, which kind of helped them a little bit to stay in it a bit more. We had about six or seven stay active over the break playing soccer and I think it translated (Thursday).”
Garner admitted that his past teams at Columbia (7-2) have struggled after the long layoff, but that wasn’t the case against Santa Fe (6-6). The Tigers scored three goals in the first 24 minutes of Thursday’s match and dominated possession for most of the night, outshooting the Raiders 14-7.
What made the performance even more impressive was the fact that Columbia only had one practice prior to the matchup due to the storm that rolled through the area and canceled school Tuesday.
“We historically have had a lot of trouble after the break just getting them back in the soccer mentality,” Garner said. “With that storm this week canceling our practice it was kind of tough. We had one practice and then this. It was a challenge, but they were very focused in practice. We usually do a light practice for a game, but it was a grueling practice. I think it helped them adapt and get back in the mindset.”
After Brasel’s goal in the game’s opening minute, which came via an assist from Peyton McManus, it didn’t take long for the Tigers to double the lead. They got some help from the Raiders in the sixth minute when Medina-Rodriguez was tackled inside the penalty box to set up a penalty kick, which Medina-Rodriguez sent low into the corner past diving goalkeeper Riley Baker.
Fast forward to the 24th minute and Brasel found the back of the net again, this time straight from Kyndall Norris’ throw-in that she was able to corral and finish to put the Tigers up 3-0.
“Kyndall has an amazing throw-in,” Garner said. “It went all the way to the far post and it deflected off a defender and Mia finished it. She just has a knack for that.”
That was the last goal Baker surrendered as she was replaced at halftime after making one save in the first 40 minutes. Santa Fe turned to Morgan Applebee, who didn’t fair much better with only two saves in the second half.
Applebee allowed her first goal in the 51st minute on a perfect sequence from Columbia. Brasel pushed the attack forward before dishing a pass to Bulock, who then quickly passed it over to Roberts for another goal.
“We actually worked on getting the attack in the box when we have possession,” Garner said. “Early in the season we tended to kind of lag behind the attack and now we’re attacking as a group and having people in that center-attacking position coming from the outside and pulling those defenders wide so we have space to run into. It worked exactly as we practiced.”
Roberts returned the favor, delivering an assist for Bulock’s goal in the 58th minute. It capped off a night where Garner was impressed with Columboa’s communication from start to finish.
“I was impressed that they were supporting each other as a team out there vocally and visually,” Garner said. “The visual cues we worked on in practice was there so they knew exactly where to set the ball and it worked, and we managed to find the net five times. I’m happy with that.”
Next up for Columbia is a road match at rival Suwannee on Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.