Metea Valley's McCoy celebrates birthday with goal

Metea Valley senior defender Tracey McCoy celebrated her 18th birthday on Friday by scoring just her second varsity goal.

McCoy lined up for a free kick in the seventh minute and sailed the ball into the net for the Mustangs' second goal of the game.

Her goal was one of six scored by Metea Valley in the first half, leading to a 7-0 shutout of nonconference opponent Plainfield Central, earning the Mustangs their first win of the season.

"I didn't expect it to go in," McCoy said. "Right before I took the kick, I turned and asked my coach if I should shoot it. He said to go for it, so I did."

Metea Valley (1-1-0) got on the scoreboard less than two minutes into the game when Jenna Kentgen sent a pass from the left of the box to teammate Alena Sidwell, whose shot sailed past Wildcats goalkeeper Tiffany Lenza from 10 yards out for a 1-0 lead.

Following McCoy's goal with 33:23 left, the Mustangs added to their lead five minutes later when Paige Velez crossed the ball to the front of the net where Nicki Hernandez finished the play and put her team up 3-0.

Velez helped set up her team's fourth goal with 26:16 left when she sent the ball 20 yards down field to Tyler Proszowski, who fed Kentgen at the front of the net for a 4-0 lead.

Kentgen scored her second goal off a corner kick by Hernandez with 23:45 left, and Megan Morris finished the Mustangs' first half scoring with a goal at the 14:10 mark off a corner kick by Sara Severson.

In the second half Metea Valley nearly extended the lead on three shots in the first 10 minutes as Emily Harvey, Morris and Madie Sandberg all finished with a shot on goal during that span.

Cailin La Rocque's shot attempt with 6:19 left hit the goal post, but she scored her team's seventh goal with 3:29 left on a header from teammate Jade Eriksen-Russo.

"They came out and played hard right away," Metea Valley assistant coach Chris Whaley said of his team. "They put the pressure on from the start and it made a big difference. It was a good job."

Metea Valley outshot Plainfield Central 26-2 with both of the Wildcats' shots coming in the second half.

"When we watch film, we've learned about spacing," Kentgen said. "The defense has been a main focus in practice."