Despite the blustry and snowy conditions in the High Country early this week, the Avery Lady Vikings soccer team was unfazed as it shut out the Mitchell Lady Mountaineers 4-0 in action at MacDonald Stadium on Monday and beat Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy 5-2 in Mooresboro on Tuesday.Monday' match was marked by snow, chilling winds, and plummeting temperatures. but the Lady Vikings came out determined to block everything out of their minds and play a disciplined match against their border rivals.
The elements made handling the wet ball difficult to handle on the slick FieldTurf surface. As play commenced in the first half, Avery was not playing with the crispness of previous matches, so the Avery coaches decided to clear the bench and discuss the lack of execution with the players. The talk made a difference as the team showed better precision in spite of the deteriorating weather conditions.
Avery scored first in the match as sophomore Katelynn Eudy headed a ball down in order for senior Rachel Buchanan to send a pass to fellow midfielder Mary Chesnut Smith. who sent a shot past the Lady Mountaineer keeper at the 16-minute mark.
The Vikings continued to fire shots on offense and managed to score one other goal in the first 40 minutes of play. Forward Emily Banner sent a ball to freshman Hannah Washburn who, despite just beginning to play soccer this season, looked like a seasoned pro as she tallied her first career high school goal, staking the Big Red to a 2-0 lead at halftime.
During intermission the coaches for both squads and the referees conferred regarding the worsening weather and agreed to cut the second half to only 20 minutes rather than the usual 40-minute stanza.
In the 54th minute of the match, Banner crossed a ball to sophomore Melinda Eggers, who dished a helper to Smith for a second score of the night, making the score 3-0. The final goal of the evening came three minutes later when the Mountaineers were called for a handball in the penalty area, awarding the Lady Vikings a penalty shot. Senior goalkeeper Cailan Calloway took the penalty shot and demonstrated her great versatility as she blazed a shot past the reach of the keeper for the team's fourth and final goal of the match.
It was another sterling night for the Big Red squad as the defense played strong and keeper Calloway registered yet another shutout in goal for her fifth this season. Avery took 13 shots on goal for the match, seven of which came in the abbreviated second half of play.
The following evening the Big Red ventured to Rutherford County to take on Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy. Next season the Lady Gryphons will be joining the Western Highlands Conference, so the match gave each team a taste of what to expect in conference play when the foes collide in the future.
Although the day was a snowy reprise of winter in the High Country, the weather was improved off the mountain, as the two teams squared off on a cool, windy afternoon. Avery managed to take advantage of an overmatched TJCA squad.
The game for the most part was a mismatch on the pitch, but the Lady Vikings still showed periods of inaccuracy with passes and a lack of anticipation or execution which was of concern to the coaches on the Avery bench.A number of the Lady Vikings errors were self-inflicted as the team was unable to take advantage of opportunities when they had extra time to make crisp passes and take clean shots.
In spite of the imperfections, the match was still dominated by the visitors in red. Similar to Monday evening, weather played a role in the game as a strong breeze often made for hard turf which made it difficult to judge the speed put on passes between teammates.
Avery got on the board in the ninth minute of play as Mary Chesnut Smith sent a cross to Melinda Eggers for the first goal of the evening. The second goal occurred when Emily Banner assisted on a goal by Smith. The Lady Gryphons sliced the lead in half on a goal off a corner kick in the 28th minute, which remained the score until halftime.
Neither team managed to break through for a tally until Avery put a third goal on the scoreboard at the 61st minute. Eggers netted her second goal of the evening off an assist from Elyse Perry. Seven minutes later Banner scored off an assist from Smith to put Avery in the lead 4-1.
TJCA managed a second goal at the 72-minute mark, but Avery answered four minutes later when Eggers assisted on the first goal of the season by Noelle Henline to provide for the final margin.
Avery took five shots on goal in the first half and nine in the second for 14 shots in all. The Big Red defense continued its stretch of impressive play, anchored by goalkeeper Cailan Callaway who earned yet another win in goal and added a second half save. The Lady Vikings played without the services of Hayley Pyatte for the second match in a row, and were also without Katelyn Beverly for the trip.
The Lady Vikings improve its record to 8-2-1, with a 4-1 conference mark. Avery is scheduled to host Owen at MacDonald Stadium this afternoon in a Western Highlands Conference match starting at 6 p.m.
