By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – After sitting on the bus for safety during a pregame lightning delay, Columbus East struck with flashy speed. The wait was worth it.
East’s Kira VanValkenburg exploded for a hat trick in the opening 9 1/2 minutes as the Olympians streaked to an 8-0 victory over Bedford North Lawrence on Tuesday evening.
If the Olympians were worried about road fatigue and drained energy during the long trip and extended delay prior to the start of their Hoosier Hills Conference opener, they were quickly put at ease when VanValkenburg came out firing with goals at 39:35, 37:07 and 30:35 of the first half. All from the same left side, all from the same angle.
“A delay is always a concern,” East coach Ilya Schwartzman said. “But the kids came out firing. It was very pleasing to see. We knew we had great speed, and she executed perfectly.”
East (2-5-1 overall) made it 5-0 at intermission with two goals by Ruth Federle. She completed her hat trick with 27:42 left in the second half.
“They came out ready to go,” BNL coach Bret Roberts said. “That’s the best team we’ve played this year. They had some really talented players. They had some very fast girls that we could not keep up with. We were not prepared.”
East’s Natasha Armstrong and Taylor Scott capped the offensive attack with second-half goals.
The Olympians ended BNL’s modest two-game winning streak.
“They didn’t give up,” Roberts said. “It’s hard to do that when that’s the score. I asked them to give a little more in the second half, and they did. They put up a good fight.”
(BNL 3-4-0 overall, 0-3-0 in HHC) will journey to Jennings County on Thursday.
