Early offense and fast strikes by the Silverdale Lady Seahawks led them past the Boyd-Buchanan Lady Buccaneers Tuesday night, 3-1.
The Lady Seahawks wasted no time putting pressure on the Lady Bucs. Right after kickoff, Silverdale pushed themselves into the Boyd-Buchanan defense. After a few minutes of feeling out the defense, the Lady Seahawks would strike.
From the Bucs’ 35 yard-line, Silverdale’s Ella Sullivan would wind up for a free kick. Sullivan’s kick would glide inside the box and lands at the head of teammate Claire Bolton. Bolton’s header appeared to go straight up in the air (looked like 20 feet) and drifted towards the net. The header was so far up that, as it fell down, the Boyd Buchanan keeper could not get their hands on it as it bounced into the net. The first strike by the Lady Seahawk offense in the 14th minute.
Within a minute after, Silverdale would claim possession again. Pushing up the sideline, Lady Seahawk Abigail Witten would send a skipping cross across the turf and into the penalty area. There, Silverdale’s Addie Chapman would receive the cross, allude the approaching goalkeeper, and send the ball into the net. In 15 minutes of play, the Lady Seahawks vaulted to a 2-0 lead.
And as it rains, it pours. Following a few defensive stops by both teams, Silverdale’s Ella Sullivan would be in the attacking third yet again. This time she would rattle off defenders, showing off her shiftiness, before squaring up with the goal. Sullivan would send a grounded shot to the right side of the net. The goalkeeper could not reach for it, and the ball tucked itself next to the post and rolled into the net. It was perfect placement by Sullivan, and it gave the Lady Seahawks a demanding 3-0 lead.
The Lady Bucs’ offense began to play follow the deficit, but excellent goalkeeping Silverdale’s Rachel Baker and poor luck kept them off the board for the majority of the game. Boyd Buchanan’s Elle Vinson had multiple opportunities with two saved by Baker and one flying over the cross bar.
The Lady Bucs’ forward Jenna Randolph would swing the momentum of the game in favor of the home team midway through the second half. Randolph would send a blast into the top right corner of the net, past the diving attempt by Baker, and net a beautiful goal. Trimming the lead to 3-1, Boyd-Buchanan would land more shots on goal in the 20 minutes left in the game than the entire first half, but to no avail.
Silverdale’s Baker would have one last phenomenal save with four minutes remaining. Following a Boyd-Buchanan throw in, the Lady Bucs headed the ball into the box as a striker awaited and sent a strike at the goal. Baker’s quick reflexes were on display as the goalkeeper was able to punch the ball away from the net and over the cross bar, eliminating a goal by the Lady Bucs. The score would stand at 3-1 as Silverdale survives the second-half scares.
With the win, the Lady Seahawks improve to 12-1-1 on the season and look to close out the regular season with a win over the Signal Mountain Eagles on Thursday, Sept. 29. For the Lady Bucs, they look to rebound from the loss at Notre Dame on Thursday as well.
Game Summary
SILVERDALE 3 0 - 3
BOYD BUCHANAN 0 1 - 1
Goal Scorers: Silverdale (3) Claire Bolton, Addie Chapman, Ella Sullivan; Boyd Buchanan (1) Jenna Randolph