Jr. Cyclones trip Blazers 2
Published 10:16 pm Wednesday, March 18, 2015
It’s hard to tell from their play, but the Jr. Cyclones of T.A. Dugger haven’t had too many practices under their belt.
None of that was evident on Wednesday as they topped the Blazers of Washington County, 3-0 during their contest at Brown Childress Stadium.
“I’m excited,” TAD coach Michelle Butler said. “This is actually our third game in a row this week, and so far we’ve played six games, won five of them and tied one of them.”
“I’ve been really impressed with how the team is doing, considering we got off to a really rough start with the weather,” she added. “Before our first game, we had two days of practice and so at this point we have had the same amount of practices as we have had games.”
But that hasn’t translated into errors on the field.
Teagan Bershausen led the team with two goals on the night, as he broke the nil tie in the first period after finding the back of the net during the 18th minute. His second goal came in the 23rd minute of the second half and provided the Jr. Cyclones with a little more cushion to their victory.
“Teagan’s a very talented player and he hustles a lot and has a lot of speed,” Butler said. “He’s got a lot of natural talent and it helps having him up front. We have a really strong midfield and when he and our other forwards get the ball, they are able to drive it up the field.”
T.A. Dugger had multiple opportunities that they missed during the contest. One included a nicely assisted pass from John Schaff to Evan Fulmer. However Fulmer was unable to get a good boot on the ball and sent it sailing over the crossbar.
During the next possession, Schaff took it upon himself to find the back of the net, sneaking the final goal of the night just past the outstretched Blazers’ keeper during the eighth minute.
The Blazers weren’t able to find an answer during the contest but they did have a couple of balls they weren’t able to take advantage of. Much of that was thanks to the defensive effort of the Jr. Cyclones. The fact that her defense has played so well has pleased Butler, as she thought it would be their weakest part of the field heading into the season.
“This year, defense was going to be our weakest area,” Butler said. “But they’ve been playing super and have improved over several practices and many games.”
In the goal, it was Luke Bernshausen and Austin Canter who split duties in the goal during the first and second half.
Next up for the Jr. Cyclones will be a home game against Liberty Bell on Monday. First kick will be at 6 p.m.
