The tears on the faces of the Chattanooga Christian Lady Chargers said it all as they watched the time tick down, their chances of a victory lowering just as the downward car on the Incline itself began to sink out of sight. A tough first half fight to a scoreless tie was soon overcome by the Christ Presbyterian Academy Lady Lions with a goal in the first minute of the second half in an opening round match in the State A-AA Girls Soccer Tournament played at the Lady Chargers home field on Wednesday evening.
CPA forward Victoria Anderson found herself all alone in front of the CCS net for a head shot to take a 1-0 lead over the Lady Chargers. This goal seemed to add just a bit of weight on the Lady Chargers shoulders.
CPA is making their third straight appearance in the state tourney with two previous finished at the semi-final round. According to CPA head coach Brandy Gagliano,"We figured out early on that CCS played a very direct style of game, going to their center on almost every attack. We simply picked off the long balls and shut them down." CPA was undefeated in their Nashville district with only two losses outside that district. "One was to a triple-A squad and the other to a Division II team, both by only one goal," added Gagliano.
The Lady Lions were a very aggressive and disciplined team. They played an exceptionally tight defense which was constantly cutting CCS players off the ball. The Lady Chargers did get a scoring opportunity in the 72nd minute when a ball got behind CPA keeper Shae McCauley. As the CCS girls converged on the ball junior mid-fielder Chelsae Parris got there first and boomed a clearing shot to save the goal.
The Lady Chargers seemed they were just a step too late the entire game. CCS coach Cal Sneller was gracious in defeat, saying, "CPA was a very patient team tonight, they played well. Their defense definitely had a bit more spring in their step than we did, just a little more bounce." He would not take anything away from his own team, adding, "We played alright; played hard; and, we never gave up. They gave us a great year and did more than they were expected to."
The win puts CPA at 20-2-0 and moves them into a semi-final match against the winner of Christian Academy of Knoxville (21-0-1) and Madison to be played later Wednesday evening. That match will be played at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Chattanooga Christian facilities. Chattanooga Notre Dame and Greeneville match up earlier at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Greeneville was a 2-0 winner over Page earlier Wednesday. Notre Dame beat Dyersburg 6-0 with 33-0 shots on goal barrage. The loss ends the Lady Charger season with a record of 14-6-3.
First half score: 0-0
CPA: 0 “ 2 = 2
CCS: 0 “ 0 = 2
CPA: Shots on goal 9; saves 6 (Keeper: Shae McCauley)
CCS: Shots on goal 6; saves 6 (Keeper: Taylor Thurman)
(You can contact Dennis Norwood at ladyvols56@att.net)