Contributed

The North Moore girls defeated Thomasville 7-2 on Monday in a soccer match that was greatly affected by Mother Nature.

The wind created problems for North Moore in the first half and for Thomasville in the second. The Mustangs started out against the wind and found the ball repeatedly played long into their defensive end. The Mustangs compensated by sinking farther back.

The Bulldogs compounded North Moore's problem by playing an aggressive offside trap. Chloe Donaldson twice broke through the defense only to be thwarted by the Thomasville goalkeeper. With a little less than 10 minutes left in the half, Thomasville was given a penalty kick for a hand ball in the box. Alejandra Solis converted into the right corner of the net.

North Moore received an indirect free kick with three minutes left in the half because of a back pass picked up by the Thomasville goalkeeper, but the Mustangs were unable to convert the opportunity.

The second half saw the Mustangs score within the first 30 seconds as Donaldson broke through the defense and buried the ball in the net. About five minutes later, the Mustangs took a 2-1 lead when a Donaldson corner kick was converted by Ester Pascal.

Thomasville drew even on another goal by Solis before the Mustang offense got going in a big way. A few minutes later, Donaldson put the Mustangs in front for good. Over the next 20 minutes, they found the target four times.

For the game Donaldson had four goals and three assists, Whitney Morgan had a goal and an assist, and Paige Garner and Ester Pascal each added one goal.

"We struggled with the wind in the first half," Mustang coach James Horwath said.

"The ball wouldn't go anywhere when it was cleared and it ran well for them in the offense. Still, not including the penalty, they didn't score. The big difference is we converted our opportunities in the second half. This team continues to improve and is beginning to get healthy."

North Moore improved to 6-2 and 4-0 in the conference. On Wednesday, the Mustangs host Southwestern Randolph and on Thursday travel to South Davidson.