HART – There was nothing Oakridge could do to stop the freight train that was Hart’s girls soccer team Wednesday, April 23 as the Pirates rolled to a 5-1 victory.
From the start, Hart controlled the pace of play. Oakridge struggled to maintain possession as the Pirates continually dominated the middle of the field.
That was in large part due to the efforts of Hart’s three-headed monster of distributors that rotated between attacking and holding midfielders. Addison Barefoot, Breslyn Porter and Olivia Bradley all have their own niches, with each serving up a unique advantage.
“It’s the perfect triple threat,” Hart Head Coach Joe Gilbert said. “You’ve got Olivia Bradley who can ping balls anywhere she wants and be our metronome. Breslyn is the enforcer with that physical presence that doesn’t allow girls through easily and Addison Barefoot has the drive and technical ability to find decisive passes.”
Barefoot is just a freshman, but her impact on the game was felt throughout. More times than not, she’d find herself dribbling the ball up the field while leaving defenders grasping at the air behind her following quick footwork. That, paired with some big swings from Bradley, delivered Hart plenty of scoring opportunities.
“We had a pressing strategy ready to go for what we saw (Oakridge) liked to do,” Gilbert said. “We found our rhythm in the middle and the only thing we had to adjust to was them throwing girls into our back line. They got a couple through, but we trusted our girls to find scoring opportunities.”
The first of those opportunities to find the back of the net, didn’t come until 12 minutes remained in the first half. Natalie Rosema drove a ball to the corner of the net, sending an angled ball toward the left post. Senior striker Addison Kokx crashed on the ball, tapping it through for a 1-0 lead.
That fueled Hart for another goal late in the half, this time with only five minutes left until halftime. Bradley fired a long ball from the left side of the field to Zoily Sarabia who received it inside the Eagles’ penalty area. Sarabia collected herself and sent a shot past the keeper for her first goal of the 2025 season.
Sarabia wasn’t done yet however. After Oakridge found a goal to start the second half, Sarabia netted her second of the night on a one-on-one situation with the Eagles’ keeper after Rilynn Porter found her open in front of the net.
Rilynn and Sarabia connected once more in the second half, this time with roles reversed. Sarabia put a ball across the penalty box where Rilynn waited to convert and send the Pirates up 4-1.
Barefoot closed out the game with a goal, sending a fastball through after intercepting a pass and taking it in herself.
Defense was seldom needed for Hart, but the back line of Kailey Edenburn, Faith VanderVlucht, April Chaffee, Destiny Rodriguez and Arianna Vela-Cantu allowed just six shots for Oakridge. Keeper Emma Jeffries made four total saves in net.
The Pirates moved to 2-4-1 overall, while also scoring their first conference win of the year. Hart now sits at 1-2 in the West Michigan Conference.
