Signal Mountain Trounces Huntland, Advances To Region Soccer Finals

Camilla Mincey may not have the best straight-line speed on Signal Mountain’s team, but her long-range volleys are unmatched in Hamilton County. Her 31st minute bullet from outside the box and moving with pace from left to right was one of the reasons Signal advanced to the Region 3 final Tuesday evening . Their 8-0 win over Huntland marked the second straight home match the Signal Mountain Eagles have scored at least 8 goals.

 

Forward Kara Wilson got things rolling within five minutes of kickoff, with the speedy forward driving to her right and stretching the Huntland goalkeeper away from her perch.

After forcing the defense into compromised position, she fired back to the left far post, and notched Signal’s initial score.

 

However, after Wilson’s quick strike, Signal’s goal-a-minute offense went strangely silent for the next 20 minutes. Coach Richard Northcutt put some of the blame on his back line. While they did a fantastic job of locking down Huntland’s strikers, they were rarely involved in the attack.

 

“We were just off and not playing well. There were spaces they could have overlapped at the beginning of the game,” coach Northcutt said. “They can serve the ball and play a long kick, and that’s what they should have been doing. We just chose not to pass at the beginning.”

 

Camilla Mincey shook the Eagles out of their mini-slump with the first of her four goals in the 23rd minute. She bombed a long-range effort easily past the keeper, and then five minutes later, MIincey and the dynamic Briley Lowry combined for a slick give-and-go for another score. Right before halftime, Signal’s star shooter secured her hat-trick with a minute to spare. Although she began the game in the midfield, coach Northcutt quickly moved Mincey back to forward after the offense’s anemic start.

 

“She started off at center-mid because Lily yesterday felt a little pull, so we were going to keep her out. But we were stinking it up so we stuck her back up front,” coach Northcutt said. “In the girl’s game, if you can hit a solid and hard ball out on the wing into the frame, it’s very dangerous.”

 

Five minutes later, Mincey notched goal number four, but it could be argued the most impressive score of the night came a minute later in the 46th. Substitute Abby Roberts had come into the game and made her presence felt in the box. When she received the ball, Huntland’s overworked keeper crept up and prepared to make a challenge.

 

Rather than try to shoot to the left or right, and certainly not intending to be smothered by the green-clad keeper, Roberts took her third option. Imitating a curveball once thrown in vintage Kershaw outings, she lollypopped the ball up and over the keeper, with the prized object softly landing in the grass inside the netting.

 

While coach Northcutt wanted more attacking movement from his back four, Signal Mountain’s quartet of Maddi Avery, Lainey Jenkins, Addison Cross, and Jenny Daverson allowed only two shots by Huntland all game, consistently smothering the opposition in the final third. They were complimented by steady senior CDM Ainsley Lane.

 

While she hardly ventured a shot, Lane was one of the most important players on the pitch. Whenever she was not blowing up plays in front of Signal’s back four, she was acting as the link between defense and attack. Time and time again, she acted as an inviting target for Cross and Jenkins, before quickly distributing to someone like Mincey.

 

“That’s her number one job, to come in and not make mistakes. We said at halftime, if all ten players make three mistakes each, we’re never going to have the ball and we’ve lost it every time we got the ball,” coach Northcutt said. “We just were not sharp at the start of the game. ”

 

“You should never try to evaluate your opponents. You should just do the best you can, and you don’t worry about anything else.”

 

Signal Mountain will travel to Unionville to play against Community High School on Thursday. The winner will be crowned the region champion.