For 65 minutes the Elizabethton Lady Cyclones soccer squad clung to a one-goal lead in conference play against University High at Citizens Bank Stadium on Tuesday evening. But Lady Buccaneer senior striker Maya Houston’s lightning bolt shot from 25 yards out found a small gap between the crossbar and EHS goalkeeper Loran Campbell’s fingertips and the teams settled on a 1-1 draw.

“I hit it just right and I told her after the game that I thought she had it,” Houston said in speaking of Campbell. “She is one heck of a goalie and that’s the first time she has been scored on all season. She’s just a great goalie. Elizabethton games are always tough, they are our biggest competition. This was a great game to play in and to watch as a fan.”

EHS (5-0-2, 3-0-1 conference) got on the scoreboard in the 18^th minute when senior Kim Henson sent a corner kick into the University High penalty area and made her way upfield. The ball wasn’t properly cleared by UH and the ball came to Henson and she drilled a shot past Lady Bucs keeper Elizabeth Burns for a 1-nil Cyclone lead.

“It looked like it deflected off one of our players and I just saw the opportunity,” Henson said. “It was a great opportunity for a shot on goal, and with it being UH, they are our top rivals. This game showed us that we have to start communicating better and getting to the ball quicker. I was pretty confident that the shot was inside the frame.”

A penalty-plagued game saw 21 whistled penalties but despite that fact it was a well-played game as players kept their composure throughout.

“It was hard to tell what was a penalty and what wasn’t,” said Lady Cyclones head coach Bill McClay. “There was so much 50-50 going on that you couldn’t tell who initiated contact. But, I’ll take it (the draw) because we really didn’t play well tonight. We had opportunities when we had the ball but for some reason when we got to the 30-yard line we seemed to stop. Cami (Davison) had the ball a couple of times and was running with it, but no one gave her an option for a pass. On the one play we let down and Maya got open and she had a good strike on the ball.”

The Cyclones dodged a bullet when a strike by Annika Oiler hit the crossbar and came straight down without totally crossing the goal line and Campbell made a heads up play but grabbing the loose ball before it crossed over and play continued.

“I’m happy with the tie,” said UH head coach Dan Almond. “Because we were down 1-0 since halftime to be honest with you. Some days when you see a ball like that and it strikes the crossbar, sometimes they call it in and sometimes they don’t. You just have to play to the whistle. Overall, I was very happy with our performance. Maya’s goal was about 25 yards out and that’s a college shot and next year she will be playing with the big girls.”

EHS / UH 1-1

University High 0 1 – 1

Elizabethton 1 0 – 1

Scoring Summary

First Half

E – Henson (unassisted) 18:00

Second Half

U – Houston (unassisted) 65:00

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