Out-running the Cougars… Lady Cyclones rally in second half to remain undefeated in conference
Published 1:20 am Thursday, September 12, 2019
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Lady Cyclone Kaylen Shell battles a Central Lady Cougar for possession of the soccer ball. Shell scored the first goal of the game in the second half to break a scoreless tie.
BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
Elizabethton Lady Cyclone head coach Bill McClay has said all along that the main thing that his team has to do is take care of business against their conference foes to set themselves up in good position for the post-regular season tournament.
On Tuesday, the Lady Cyclones continued to do what their skipper has wanted as Elizabethton finally woke up in the second half to deal the Lady Cougars of Sullivan Central a 2-nil defeat to stay unbeaten in conference play at 3-0.
The Lady Cyclones will look to keep that streak intact next week when they travel to Sullivan South to take on the Lady Rebels who fell to the same Lady Cougars by a 4-1 score in earlier play.
Neither team could muster much offensively in the first half as the record-breaking heat may have played a large part in the lethargic play over the first 40 minutes of action.
However, when you have a scorer on your team like Kaylen Shell, it takes a little pressure off as Shell broke the scoring drought at the 46:01 mark of the contest as the Lady Cougar goal keep came out of the net and Shell took advantage of the open net to score to make it 1-nil.
Shell actually ended up in the back of the net on the score after taking the feed from Lexie Brown as she was charging hard to put her team out front.
Central kept up the attack as the Lady Cyclones goal keep Morgan Heaton played more like a senior than a freshman withstanding several attempts by Central to even the contest up. Heaton ended up with nine saves in the contest.
The Lady Cyclones put the final nail in the coffin with the game coming to an end as Brown broke free and sent a kick into the back of the net at 79:52 to give the final score of 2-0.
Elizabethton took 17 shots in the contest at goal only coming away with the two scores. Central, meanwhile, accounted for 11 shots in the game.
“Both teams seemed a little lethargic and it was probably the heat,” said McClay after the contest. “We give them that one good shot as No. 17 got away and hit the crossbar.
“We had the ball within 12 yards of the goal four times and we didn’t make the best decisions. I just think that our communication was a little off today.
“They put a lot of stress on us,” McClay continued. “I am going to have to evaluate what they did. I think that we can play a little better. We just never seemed to close quickly.”
Even though the Lady Cyclones didn’t play up to the level that their coach was expecting, there were things that can be taken away before postseason play begins.
“We did preserver scoring that one goal on a set play which was good and then they were pressing and left us open,” added McClay. “The thing from tonight is that we won which kept us undefeated in the conference which was huge.
“But to do that and know there are some things that we can fix because we are likely to see them again in the postseason. The girls know this too. That was a good win even though it may have been ugly.”
The Lady Cyclones host Class AAA Tennessee High at 6 pm Thursday for a non-conference contest.
