Lady Junior Cyclones topple Sullivan Central M.S.
Published 1:01 pm Thursday, August 31, 2023
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Star Photo/Brandon Hyde
T.A. Duggers Memphis Ramsey slides past a defender Tuesday as the Lady Cyclones clashed with the Lady Cougars.
Star Photo / Brandon Hyde
T.A. Dugger hosted Sullivann Central Tuesday in Elizabethton.
Star Photo / Brandon Hyde
Nola Greenwell makes a stop before setting up a shot for T.A. Dugger.
Star Photo / Brandon Hyde
T.A. Dugger gets away with one as the Cougars had a shot dead to rights that went wide.
Star Photo / Brandon Hyde
T.A. Dugger's Heather Meier throws in late in the game for the Lady Cyclones.
Star Photo / Brandon Hyde
Aubry Szabo brings the ball into play for T.A. Dugger Tuesday against Sullivan Central.
Star Photo / Brandon Hyde
T.A. Dugger's Vella Nave goes up high for the Lady Cyclones Tuesday evening at home.
STAR CORRESPONDENT
On Tuesday at Citizens Bank Stadium, the T.A. Dugger Lady Junior Cyclones took a 3-1 conference win over Sullivan Central Middle School in girls soccer. The Cyclones (4-1 overall, 4-0 conference) were feeling out the Junior Cougars defensively in the first half, relying on its back line to hold back the Cougars attack while making some penetrations into the Central attacking zone.
In the fifth minute, sixth grader Sabrah Smith broke through with a goal to stake the Cyclones to a 1-nil advantage.
“I liked seeing us moving the ball forward into the attacking zone,” Lady Jr Cyclones head coach Samantha Husbands said. “I thought we did a good job passing into plays and they have a couple of fast girls, so we had to be careful with them. Overall, I thought we did a good job on both ends.”
One slip occurred in the 12th minute when Central’s Riley Sells scored on a left-footed shot to knot the score at 1-1. The play was set up by a small defensive lapse that failed to clear the ball from the penalty area and Sells was able to slip in and put a good shot on goal.
The tie was short lived, however, as Mea Michaud scored off a corner kick from Smith. Michaud positioned herself near the right post of the Cougars goal frame and Smith lofted a kick to the middle of the frame. Two TAD attackers saw the ball elude them as Central defenders marked them well but did not clear it from the zone.
Michaud then slipped to the middle and fired a low shot into the Central net for a 2-1 Cyclones advantage in the 26th minute of the first half. Eight-grader Vella Nave scored on a nifty shot just before the half when she flew past a Cougar defender at midfield and continued down the home sideline.
She got to the penalty area and made a move to her left and saw an opening that was too good to pass up and she let fly with a high shot to the far side of the frame to give the Cyclones a 3-1 lead at the break.
The second half was a defensive affair for the Cyclones as they only let a few Cougars approach the attacking zone. Sells got a breakaway for Central but was challenged by Heather Meier and missed a gimme shot that went wide right of the TAD goal frame.
Meanwhile, the TAD attack continued through the second half with a pair of balls hitting off posts and the crossbar on one occasion. Neither team was able to score in the second half but coach Husbands was satisfied with the effort and the result saying, “The girl who made the play on the breakaway was coach Meier’s daughter Heather. She did a good job of holding her position and our defense overall did a good job to hold it close.”
