A stingy Avery Lady Vikings defense pitched two consecutive shutouts in upending Mountain Heritage 1-0 on Monday at MacDonald Stadium and dispatching the Mitchell Lady Mountaineers 8-0 Tuesday evening in Ledger.Without a pair of players due to injury and with a number of position changes Monday evening, the Lady Vikings struggled early to get on track against a game Heritage squad. Avery's defense continued its stellar play, however, in keeping the match scoreless through the first half of action on the sunny afternoon.
Avery's coaching staff looked to multiple player combinations to find the right mix offensively, and things clicked in the Big Red's favor in the early portion of the second half. The Lady Vikings took a total of 12 shots on the Heritage goal in the second 40 minutes, with many shots just off target or hitting a crossbar.
One of Avery's shots finally found its mark in the 52nd minute when the second-year tandem of Mary Chesnut Smith and Emily Banner got the Vikings on the board. Smith passed the ball ahead to Banner who scored from about ten yards out for what amounted to the lone goal of the match.
The Lady Viking defense made the goal hold up, as senior keeper Cailan Calloway continued a stellar streak of strong play in goal with a pair of saves and her eighth shutout of the year.
Avery took little time in lighting up the scoreboard and the Mitchell Lady Mountaineers on Senior Night at Memorial Stadium in Ledger Tuesday night in an 8-0 blowout victory.
The team bounced back quickly from a less-than-stellar 1-0 victory the previous night in Newland against Mountain Heritage. From the outset, the Big Red found itself in a physical encounter, but rose to the challenge early and often.In the 11th minute Avery got on the board as junior Elyse Perry came off the bench and provided instant offense, sending a cross to senior Rachel Buchanan who netted the first tally of the match.
Three minutes later, Avery converted off a corner kick as Mary Chesnut Smith sent a ball to the front of the net. Perry got a foot on the loose ball, but the kick was deflected in by a Mitchell player for a gift own goal, staking the Vikings a 2-0 edge.
The Big Red struck again in the 36th minute as Smith and fellow sophomore Katelynn Eudy paired up for a score, with Smith assisting on a goal from Eudy. The duo worked to perfection again three minutes later for Avery's fourth and final goal of the half. This time Eudy sent a ball to Smith, who scored past the Lady Mountaineer keeper.
During intermission, Avery's coaches impressed upon the team the need to continue to play at a high level despite the physicality of the contest. The coaches laid out a challenge to the starters to make something happen in the first ten minutes of the second half, before a number of reserves would see significant action and position shifts would occur.
The Lady Vikings responded in an overwhelmingly positive fashion. In the 44th minute, sophomore Melinda Eggers passed to classmate Emily Banner whose kick found the upper half of the goal for a 5-0 margin.
In the 58th minute, Banner struck for a second goal as freshman Hannah Washburn set up the sophomore with a great pass, which Banner capitalized on for a score.
Eighteen minutes later Eudy, who re-entered the game after a short recovery from some physical play, played forward rather than her usual stopper position. She found Smith, who was replacing Eudy at stopper. Smith passed back to Eudy, who eluded a number of Lady Mountaineer defenders and scored her second goal of the evening. Smith then capped the scoring with a second goal for the night off a Washburn assist.
Avery's offensive attack was well balanced with 30 shots on goal: 14 in the first half and 16 in the second. One score was off one of the 7 corner kicks. Avery also played a great defensive game with only two fouls called and one offsides.
Goalkeeper Cailan Calloway was the dependable stopper in net that she has been throughout the entire season, registering a whopping ninth shutout of the season while saving a pair of Mitchell shots, with help from defensive stalwarts junior sweeper Hayden Blackburn, senior Kasey Brown, and sophomore Megan Robbins.
The Lady Vikings improve again on its stellar season with a 9-1 record in Western Highlands Conference play and are 13-2-1 overall.
Avery returns to action on Friday night with a non-conference friendly against neighboring Watauga, then venture back into conference action against the two teams they are tied for in the WHC: a make-up match at home with Hendersonville for Senior Night on Monday and the regular season finale at Polk on May 5th.
