The East Hamilton Lady Hurricanes earned a triumphant Championship victory over host Signal Mountain by a final score of 3-0 on Thursday night. In a game with stifling defense from both sides, goal-scoring opportunities were at a premium, and the Lady Canes were able to capitalize on enough chances to hoist a championship trophy.
The first 20 minutes of the match was a defensive struggle, with each side making timely plays in the back end to keep opposing attackers at bay.
East Hamilton controlled the pace of play and kept the ball on the offensive end, but wasn’t able to break through for the first half-hour of play.
A sea of winter hats, mittens, and blankets filled the stands as the sun set and temperatures dropped, and the Signal Mountain Lady Eagles’ red uniforms paled in comparison to the rosy cheeks of the players as the brisk winds whipped across the field. Even with the chilly conditions, swaths of East Hamilton fans traveled to the away game and the roar of the Canes crowd echoed off the red and yellow trees atop Signal Mountain as forward Diamond Stephens sent a high arching cross into the box that was deposited into the back of the net by a Zoey Burgner in the 39th minute.
Early in the second half, the Lady Canes seemed eager to add on. Had the goal been a foot taller, Diamond Stephens may have had a second-half hat-trick, as she had three shots over the course of just ten minutes sail inches over the crossbar, one glancing off of it and landing harmlessly out of bounds.
Despite the missed opportunities, East Hamilton’s relentless pressure paid off when Megan Corvin netted a shot just inside the far post 16 minutes into the second half to double her team’s lead. With the clock working against Signal Mountain, the desperate Lady Eagles found a few chances to remain within striking distance but weren’t able to get anything past goalkeeper Maggie Richerd.
After fending off the comeback attempt from the scrappy Signal Mountain attackers, East Hamilton’s Iris Barnes out-hustled the defense to corral a long through-ball that came from beyond midfield, and snuck it into the corner of the goal and make it a 3-0 advantage late in the game.
Perhaps no one on either side was more impactful from start to finish than Lady Hurricanes fullback Jesse Wookcook. She led the East Hamilton defense with a plethora of precise defensive plays to snuff out potential chances for the Signal Mountain offense, and while numbers may not show it, she had her fingerprint–or footprint, as it were, all over this match.
“We had to dig deep tonight,” said East Hamilton head Coach Eugene Nelson. “I was telling my team before the game, just look at the banners that they have. They’re used to winning and they’re a really really good team, so we’re going to have to match their intensity,” said Nelson.
Nelson wasn’t satisfied with the intensity of his squad in the first half, and his team responded with a cleaner, more explosive second half.
“We just had to calm down. Everything was a bit frantic. Once we settled down we were able to get a couple of goals in. I’m really proud of my girls because they beat a very tough team,” said Nelson.
Both teams will advance to the sectionals, with East Hamilton staying home to entertain Anderson Co. on Saturday while Signal Mountain must travel to Livingston Academy.,
Summary
EHHS 1 2 - 3
SMHS 0 0 - 0
Goals: Zoey Burgner 1, Megan Corvin 1, Iris Barnes 1 (EHHS)