Coach Todd Abbey easily admitted that he didn’t know what to expect from his Lady Patriot soccer team in its home game on Monday against Scotland County.

The majority of his players were facing their ninth game in 11 days, including the high school schedule and a weekend club team showcase event in Richmond, Va.

After scoring only a solo goal in the first half, Pinecrest found the net five times in the final frame and took its second conference victory of the season, 6-0 over Scotland. The Patriot jayvees won 8-0.

“I wanted to change things up a bit and give some of the girls a bit of a break,” Abbey said after the game. “It was a good experience for the starters tonight, and I was pleased with the way they came out and played.”

Junior forward Antonia Meyers’ open shot from outside the box put the host Patriots on the board in the 23rd minute. Pinecrest had plenty of chances and actively controlled the ball, but failed to finish.

Abbey’s decision to focus on his team’s speed sparked a charge in the second half. Using various offensive combinations of Kristen Phelps, Meyers, Jazz Jones, Kathryn Palmer, and senior Ashly’n Douglas, the Patriots maintained the advantage for the majority of the final forty minutes.

Senior Lauren Corrigan found the breaking Kara Sheerin with a nice through ball down the center of the field in the 52nd minute.

A Meyers attempt was deflected by the Scotland goalkeeper, and Jones finished with a quick put-back. After a flurry of shots by Jones which hit the cross bar, Phelps used a high arching shot from left of the goal to put the Patriots up by a score of 4-0 with 20 minutes remaining.

A Kelly Palmer assist to Corrigan accounted for the fifth goal. With 44 seconds left, sophomore Haley Robinson made the score 6-0 on a header in front of the net following a nice corner kick from goalie Sarah Dejak, who played offense in the last five minutes of the game.

Dejak was relieved in goal by midfielder Mariotti Meyers in the waning minutes of the game; back up keeper Abbey Crider was sidelined with an injury.

Dejak admitted the first half was a little “rocky.”

“We just couldn’t finish any of the opportunities we had — and we had a lot of chances,” she noted. “We didn’t have any speeches at halftime, but we just settled down and focused on our scoring in the second half.”

For seniors Dejak and Mariotti Meyers, switching positions on the field was a mixed bag. The starting goalkeeper said she was really excited to play the field and was quick to mention her assist on Robinson’s goal.

Meanwhile, Mariotti Meyers, who has never trained in goal, thought the offense-to-keeper move was a bit nerve-wracking, but Coach Abbey gave her credit for preserving the win for the Patriots, who move to 5-4-1 overall on the season.

“I was really nervous since I’ve only tried being the goalie in practice,” she pointed out. “I was hoping that Sarah would come in and tell me what to do, if I needed help.”

The varsity squad will see action again Wednesday as they host Purnell Swett at 7 p.m. Non-conference foe Jack Britt hosts both Patriot teams on Thursday in Fayetteville.