Marion soccer rolls past Harrisburg

MARION -- Blake Clark netted a hat trick and Paige Newlin scored two goals as the Marion High School girls soccer team eased past Harrisburg, 9-2, on a frigid Tuesday evening at Wildcat Stadium.
Newlin got the Lady Wildcats on the board in the fourth minute with a goal assisted by both Clark and Marissa Basi.
Then in the eighth minute, Makenzie Miller scored off a nifty pass from Nicole Szidik. Eight minutes later, Newlin scored again with Clark collecting another assist and Basi scored her own goal from a Miller pass to make it 4-0 with 22 minutes still left in the first half.
Clark, who recently scored six goals in four matches and was named MVP of the Puma Bracket at the Metro Cup tournament, put in her first goal with nine minutes left in the half. Miller was credited with her second assist.
Harrisburg got on the board with a goal by Lauren McDaniel at the 4:48 mark. Josie Drone assisted the score.
Marion went into the half with a 6-1 lead when Lauryn Kadela punched in a shot from a Clark assist with 3:40 left on the clock.
Clark put in her second off a pass from Estefania Rodriguez four minutes into the second half and Ana Cuartas scored with an assist from Szidik to make it 8-1 with 27:13 left and invoking the mercy rule that slices the remaining time in half.
Harrisburg cut the Marion lead to 8-2 with an unassisted goal by Devin Butler with 6:21 remaining.
Clark finished the hat trick with her third goal of the night and ninth of the season with 1:15 left. Szidik was marked for her third assist.
Marion is now 4-0-1 and plays Harrisburg again on Tuesday. The two teams will also meet again in the first round of the Fralish Cup tournament in Carbondale on April 13.