ASHLAND —
Haleigh Hoff moved on to the University of Kentucky’s women’s soccer team this season after earning high school All-American honors at Winfield (W.Va.).
Her father, Marshall, coached the Lady Generals to a state runner-up finish last season.
Much to Ashland’s dismay, the Lady Generals don’t appear to have missed a beat. Undefeated and No. 3 in the latest West Virginia rankings, Winfield motored past the LadyCats 6-1 on Thursday evening at the Ashland Soccer Complex.
Senior Emily Cole scored four goals — two in each half — as Winfield controlled the match and extended its strong start this season to 6-0.
“They just kept coming at you,” Ashland coach E.B. Lowman said. ”They played 17 girls tonight and never lost the first bit.”
The visitors resembled a green wave as they mounted one attack after another.
“Strong, athletic and fast,” Lowman said. “That’s the best team we’ve seen.”
Marshall Hoff, now in his ninth year guiding the program, called this group his deepest yet. He began working with several of the players when they were 5- and 6-year-olds.
“They couldn’t wait till they got here (high school level),” Hoff said. “We have a lot of dedicated players. As far as conditioning, these girls work their tails off.”
Several team members are also part of Winfield’s powerhouse girls track squad. Veteran track coach David Bailey is in his third year assisting Hoff with the soccer team.
Last year, Morgantown edged Winfield on penalty kicks for the Class AAA championship. Hoff and the Lady Generals are anxious to make another run and complete the mission.
“I preach it to them,” Hoff said. “You want them to understand they are in a race for the prize, that’s a state championship.”
Winfield won three consecutive state titles in the 1990s, dating back to Jim Hall’s tenure as head coach.
The Putnam County school has been a fixture on Ashland’s schedule for several years. Hoff’s niece, Brittany Rice, attended Ashland and played soccer for Lowman from 2003-05.
“E.B. and I have been friends for a while,” Hoff said. “He’s a good coach and always fields a good team.”
Despite several close matches between the teams, the LadyCats are 0-16.
“It’s a good series,” Lowman said. “They usually make us better. In this case, we just ran into a buzzsaw.”
Junior Megan Downey had to make her first start at goalkeeper for Ashland due to injuries to Aidan Young and Kiley Henderson,
Downey came up with some early stops, including a sliding save, before Winfield broke through.
Cole scored her first goal 17 minutes into the match. Micharae Thompson quickly made it 2-0 with a shot that caromed off the left post and into the net.
Cole just missed with a drive that bounced off the cross bar, but she connected with 12:45 left in the half. Mackenzie Pritt finished off a ball from Emmy Zulauf for a 4-0 advantage.
Just before halftime, Ashland’s Charity Collins took an Abbey Hart pass and got loose on a breakaway. Collins stopped and drilled a shot past Winfield’s diving goalkeeper for her 16th goal of the season. She has scored in all 10 games for the LadyCats (6-4).
“Charity made a great play,” Lowman said.
Cole made it 5-1 early in the second half and added her fourth goal with just under eight minutes remaining.
ROCKY STANLEY can be reached at rstanley@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2671.
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