It took the Wood River girls a little while to thaw out, but once they did the soccer side torched Preston in non-conference action Saturday.
Shaking off the effects of a long bus ride and freezing cold rain, Wood River broke open a 1-1 halftime draw to best the Indians 5-2.
Senior Margii Driscoll opened scoring with a goal about 15 minutes into the game. A Preston forward got loose on a defensive miscue to knot the score, sending the teams into intermission tied 1-all.
"It was not our best soccer at this point," coach Greg Gvozdas said. "We had a four hour bus ride, it rained the whole game and temps were in the 40s and 50s. We came out sloppy."
The team regrouped during the half, talking about not wasting the opportunity to win. Tactically, Gvozdas told his players to concentrate on their first touch and play to each other's feet.
Simple instructions, but it paid off in spades. Driscoll and Calley Brown converted within two minutes of each other to put the Wolverines up 4-1 at the 15-minute mark. Preston answered to draw within two, but Driscoll slotted her third goal and Aimee Evans netted the capper, rounding out the contest 5-2.
Wood River (4-0-1) meets 2003 4A state champion Century at Founder's Field today, Wednesday, Sept. 14.
"It is a big benchmark game for us," Gvozdas said.
The Wolverines will travel to Jerome on Friday and entertain Blackfoot on Saturday, Sept. 17. Kickoff is 11 a.m.
