Sullivan South defeats Lady Cyclones, 4-1, in conference match
Published 10:59 pm Tuesday, September 1, 2015
by Bryce Phillips
Star Staff
bryce.phillips@elizabethton.
In a match that didn’t take off until the second half, the Lady Cyclones dropped their conference contest to the Sullivan South Lady Rebels 4-1 Tuesday night on the South soccer pitch.
Heading into half time, the game was tied at zero. In the second half, however, the Lady Rebels (5-2, 2-1) were able to find the board first, with Rachel Phillips firing in one from close at the 47-minute mark. Phillips would prove to be a thorn in the Lady Cyclones’ side as she posted two more before the close of the match.
“She is a freshman for us,” Sullivan South head coach Keith Parker said. “She is a quality player, and she has played soccer her whole life. … We have some key people out, which was really hurting us. … Rachel took the team on her back and really helped us.”
Down 1-0, the Lady Cyclones (2-2, 1-1) answered with a goal at 53 minutes of play, with Cortlyn Holdren chipping in a shot over the Sullivan South goalie to tie the game up at 1-1. The goal ignited some energy in the EHS fans and players as the Lady Cyclones ran up to Holdren to celebrate the goal.
“It is a game changer when a goal ties the game up,” Holdren said. “But coach said we got a little too excited. We couldn’t keep up our pace.”
The tie didn’t last long, with Phillips popping in a deep goal to push the Lady Rebels ahead 2-1 at 54 minutes. Sullivan South did it again at the 64-minute mark as South’s Bri Watlington kicked in a hard shot from the side of the goal.
South scored one more time at 76 minutes, with Phillips kicking in another shot from the side of the goal.
For EHS goalie Loran Campbell, it was her first night back out on the soccer pitch after being out for the start of the season due to an injury. It was a busy night for the junior goalie as she recorded 13 saves, with a couple of the saves having her hitting the ground to keep the Lady Rebels from advancing their score.
“The first half I felt really good,” she said. “But then the second half came, and we slowed down a little bit and let them get a lead.”Campbell said she didn’t let her absence from playing get to her during her first game back.
“I wasn’t really thinking about it,” she said. “When the shot came, I just went after it.”
The Lady Cyclones were able to create a lot of opportunities for themselves, shooting 14 shots, but were not able to capitalize.
“We just didn’t shoot,” EHS coach Bill McClay said. “You have to shoot the ball. That is one thing that we recognized going into this season. We can keep the ball pretty well, but we are not showing any inventiveness in the final third.”
The Lady Cyclones will head over to Science Hill to compete in a tournament hosted by the Lady Hilltoppers Friday.
