Jr. Lady Cyclones advance in postseason soccer tourney
Published 11:48 pm Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Maddix Morton sends a bullet toward the Jr. Lady Pioneer goal.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Liahna Nave works to control the ball in the box in Wednesday's match at Citizen's Bank Stadium.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Vella Nave looks for an open teammate to throw the ball in from out of bounds for TAD.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Isla Grindstaff stretches for a loose ball during Wednesday's match against Crockett.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Maddix Morton fights for control of the ball close to the Crockett goal.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Camdyn Garland works the ball between two Crockett defenders. Garland recorded one of the five scores the Jr. Lady Cyclones had in the match.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Izzy Lewis pushes the ball toward the Crockett goal. Lewis accounted for three assist in the Jr. Lady Cyclones victory.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Rylee May gets ready to send the soccer ball into the back of the net for a TAD score.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Isla Grindstaff dribbles the ball against pressure from a Crockett defender.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Alena Little of T.A. Dugger works the ball against the Jr. Lady Pioneer defender.
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BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
The equation was a simple one – win and live to play another day or loss and pack up the gear until next season.
T.A. Dugger gave a convincing answer as the Jr. Lady Cyclones kept up the offensive attack all through their 60-minute match with the visiting Crockett Jr. Lady Pioneers on Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park to win 5-1 and set up a match with Boone Middle at Ridgeview Elementary School on Thursday at 5:30 pm.
Boone eliminated Providence in a 2-0 game also on Wednesday.
“I feel like we passed the ball really well and moved the ball really well,” said Jr. Lady Cyclone head coach Samantha Husbands. “I was also happy with the way we possessed the ball.
“We practiced for that break-away play and I feel like if you take away that mistake that we made to allow the ball to get through, we would have had a shutout.”
The Jr. Lady Cyclones jumped out front 1-nil when Maddix Morton placed a perfectly placed kick from 20-yards out into the back of the net at the 22:56 mark of the first half.
With the aggressive play of TAD, it wasn’t long before Maddix picked up her second goal of the contest 1:46 later when she put foot to the ball at the top of the box and past the Lady Pioneer goalkeeper for a 2-nil Jr. Lady Cyclone advantage.
The mistake Coach Husbands mentioned came at the 27:17 mark of the first half when the Jr. Lady Pioneers scored their only goal of the contest on a breakaway.
At the half, the scoreboard read 2-1 in favor of the home team.
TAD kept the pressure up in the second half as Maddix picked up the hat trick when she blasted a kick that ricocheted off the leg of a Jr. Lady Pioneer and into the net for a 3-1 TAD edge at 44:41 of the game.
That advantage grew to 4-1 with a few ticks over 11 minutes left to play as Camdyn Garland blasted a ball into the back of the net from point-blank range on a perfect assist by Izzy Lewis who finished the contest with three assists.
Rylee May put the game on ice when she finished the scoring at the 55:20 mark of the match from in front of the goal to give her team the final margin of victory at 5-1.
“I am really proud of everybody – I thought they played fantastically,” Husbands said. “Sadie Kellerman (TAD goalkeeper) really stepped up.”
