Goals came early and often for the Brainerd Warriors Thursday, April 22.
Breya Sawyer and Brynne Folden each scored four goals apiece to lead the Warriors offense to a 15-3 win over the Rocori Spartans at Adamson Field.
“It was a great team effort all around,” Folden said. “Our defense was going. Our mids were going. Everyone was going and it was our goalie’s second varsity game and she played outstanding.”
Grace Aadland added three goals herself as the Warriors jumped out to a 9-0 lead at the half.
The Warriors led by as many as 10-0 before Rocori scored two in a row to make it 10-2.
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Brainerd then rattled off five of the last six goals with Aadland, Folden and Sawyer all getting one to close out the Spartans.
“I was a lot happier with the way the girls played than the score,” Warriors head coach Tina Nagel said, who notched her first win as Brainerd’s coach. “I think it's a big confidence booster which is important.”
Freshman Kate Hagulin started in net for Brainerd and in her second varsity start notched a win.
“Kate Hagulin is having a phenomenal start of her season,” Nagel said. “She came out here and she just wanted to have fun and she’s shown it in her play. In addition, our defense really set us up for success. They shut them down in the first half and would not let anyone near the goalie.”
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Brainerd was able to keep its momentum going because of its success on faceoffs. The Warriors won eight of 10 faceoffs in the first half and 12 of 18 faceoffs overall.
“I really think the girls on the draw made a difference,” Nagel said. “That really set us up for success there. That’s where we really dominated. It’s hard not to control the game when you have that much of possession.”
Sawyer won most of the faceoffs for the Warriors.
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“Winning the draws is really important,” Sawyer said. “I think it just gives the whole team momentum to get up and down the field.”
Nagel said she wanted Sawyer to try a new technique when taking draws.
“The other team really had some issues because they didn’t know where it was going,” Nagel said. “(Sawyer) was able to control it 90% of the time and she was able to see the holes in the defense today.”
Folden scored her first two goals in the first five minutes followed by three Sawyer goals and an Avery Mulholland goal.
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“It was a good effort from the team,” Sawyer said. “The whole team does a good job of setting us up.”
Folden ended the first half like she started it with a goal.
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“We were able to get hard drives from the top,” Folden said. “We made good cuts and passes.”
Aadland scored one of her goals in the first half and two in the second. Alexis Aspinwall and Alyssa Peterson each tallied a goal in the second half as well.
“We are working on confidence,” Sawyer said. “Just the basics. Learning how to cradle and shoot.”
Brainerd looks to make it two wins in a row against Sartell/Sauk Rapids Tuesday, April 27.
“We want everyone to get touches and be a threat on offense,” Nagel said. “Our offense is incredibly capable and everyone is able to go goal-to-goal.”
Rocori 0 3 — 3
Brainerd 9 6 — 15
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First half: Brd-Brynne Folden 22:48, Brd-Folden 20:54, Brd-Breya Sawyer 20:38, Brd-Avery Mulholland 18:10, Brd-Sawyer 14:08, Brd-Sawyer 6:42, Brd-Madison McKinney 3:57, Brd-Grace Aadland 2:21, Brd-Folden 1:54
Second half: Brd-Alexis Aspinwall 21:19, Rocori goal 17:14, Rocori goal 16:01, Brd-Alyssa Peterson 13:04, Brd-Aadland 11:04, Brd-Folden 8:22, Brd-Aadland 5:00, Brd-Sawyer 2:25, Rocori goal 1:05
Faceoffs: Brd 12, Roc 6
Warriors 15, Rocori 3
Key: Brainerd blanks Rocori in the first half to run away with its first win of the season.
Conference: Brd 1-2.
Overall: Brd 1-2.
Next: Brainerd at Sartell/Sauk Rapids 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 27.
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CONRAD ENGSTROM may be reached at 218-855-5861 or conrad.engstrom@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/the_rad34.
