Marion girls soccer coach Chris Paslay was convinced during the off-season that his 2024 club would be the deepest, most explosive outfit he's had since arriving in Crittenden County in 2020. That prediction has come through in spades so far this spring. Hosting Nettleton inside Southern Bancorp Stadium on Tuesday afternoon in the 5A East conference opener, three Lady Patriots accounted for three goals in less than 3 minutes to earn a 7-0 halftime lead en route to an 8-0 conquest of the Lady Raiders to improve to 3-2 overall in 2024, and 1-0 in league action. “We played well and executed really well tonight,” said Paslay after the game. “We are still a young, growing team, but it's hard not to be happy with this one.” Leading the Marion offensive assault was sophomore all-conference performer Reese Goodwin, who scored four goals against Nettleton, and added a pair of assists. Senior all-state performer Cheyenne Dotson added two goals, and sophomore Caroline Stensvig also scored twice. Stensvig is just the second Lady Patriot to score in a Marion girls soccer match, and she's the only one to score multiple goals. Goodwin's four goals mark the second-best single-game scoring outing in Marion girls soccer history, as Dotson scored five times earlier this spring. “I felt really, really good,” said Goodwin. “It was especially good after I got hurt against them last year to do well today. I was just glad to help the team.” The match opened innocently enough with no score in the first five minutes, but that's when Stensvig took a Goodwin pass and deposited it into the back of the net for the first goal with 35:06 left in the first half. Less than a minute later, Dotson went to work, adding her first goal of the afternoon for a 2-0 Marion bulge. Goodwin deposited a deflected Marion shot into the net with 33:18 left in the first half, completing Marion's three-goal wave. Almost 20 minutes passed with the Lady Pats leading 3-0 when Goodwin added her second and third goals less than two minutes apart, her second pushing the Lady Pats ahead 5-0 with 12:38 remaining to halftime. Stensvig scored with 5:37 left, and Dotson capped the first-half scoring with a penalty kick goal with 1:36 left, and the hosts took a 7-0 lead to the lockers. Goodwin clinched the final score when she added her fourth goal with 3:26 left in the second half. In boys action, Nettleton escaped Marion with a 1-0 decision, scoring the only goal of the match with 2:57 remaining. 5A EAST GIRLS RESULTS FROM 3/5 Marion 8, Nettleton 0 Paragould 10, W. Memphis 1 Greene Co. Tech 6, Batesville 0 Searcy 2, Valley View 0 5A EAST BOYS RESULTS FROM 3/5 Nettleton 1, Marion 0 Searcy 2, Valley View 1 Paragould 3, W. Memphis 0 Batesville-Greene Co. Tech not reported