Team Tennessee featuring EHS sophomore forward Cami Davison took third place in the National 16U girls soccer tournament in Auburndale, Fla. Davison reported that her club opened with wins over California by a 3-2 tally and Cincinnati, Ohio by 3-1 to send the team to a possible championship match.
“I took a penalty on a slide tackle in the box in the game against California, and they went up 1-0 on the penalty kick,” Davison said. “That was in the first few minutes of the game, and at the half, we were still down. We ended up scoring two goals, but they came back and tied it at 2-2. We scored in the last minute to win 3-2.”
The second game was a little easier as the Tennessee squad won by two and set up a match with Virginia for a shot at the title. After California beat Virginia that left Tennessee with no losses and six goals to its credit but things would not go well in the next match.
“We only needed to not get beat by more than two goals to make the championship,” Davison said. “But, we didn’t start our starters right away, hoping to save them for the championship game. It was very hot – probably 110 degrees – and we fell behind by two goals early, and ended up losing 5-nil. It was pretty devastating.”
Tennessee would rebound and take another victory over the Ohio team, by a 3-2 tally for third place, rallying from a 2-0 deficit. In that game however, Davison suffered an ankle injury that has derailed her for the time being.
“I went up for a block and came down wrong on my ankle,” Davison stated. “I’m in a walking boot right now and the doctor said to give it two weeks and then I will go back to see where I am with it. It looks like a hairline fracture of the fibula. I played on it for two games at the Olympic Development Region Camp in Alabama. We drove all the way back and when we got here Watauga Orthopedic took an X-ray they found the fracture.”
That setback hurt Davison’s chances to making the Youth Olympic U.S team.
“In the Alabama region you are just two steps away from the Youth Olympic U.S. team,” she said. “That is a disappointment, but it was a great experience making the all-tournament and just going down there and doing well in our first two games. We gave ourselves a chance to win the National.”
Davison said that the experience at the National was exciting and she was named to the All-tournament team making her one of the top 18 in the nation in her age group. Davison has said she intends to play this season for Elizabethton High School as soon as she gets clearance to resume.
“As soon as I am ready I’ll get back to playing for the Lady Cyclones,” she said. “Hopefully, I will be back in two weeks.”