It took about one quarter of the game for the Lady Vikings to get into a scoring rhythm, after playing 3 games, 2 of which went into OT, and where only two goals were scored in the three games. Both goals came off free kicks, one by Avery for the win over Thomas Jefferson and one by Polk for the Lady Vikings’ first loss of the season. The middle game was scoreless OT tie with Hendersonville.In the 21st minute, senior Elyse Perry got the Vikings going with the first score assisted by Mary Chesnut Smith. Seven minutes later, Perry received the corner kick from Smith and got it to sophomore Hannah Washburn who scored the second goal for Avery. This was Washburn’s first goal of the season. Three minutes later, in the 31st minute, Smith scored a goal of her own, assisted by Emily Banner. The rest of the half was scoreless.
Finishing, good passes and a plan to continue playing the bench in order to get them more game experience were goals for the second half. An emphasis on good finishes was stressed, not so much to score in this game, but to play smarter in the close games. An extra pass, an extra move to get the goalie to commit to one direction, and just plain relaxing and placing the ball where the goalie isn’t were some of the strategies put forth for the Lady Vikings to work on in the second half.
Six minutes into the second half, first year player Brooke Whittington, who started for the injured Arden Stanley, ran down the ball which was behind the Madison defense and crossed it to Banner, who found herself in traffic. Banner dropped the ball back to Perry who scored with her left foot, her second goal of the evening.
Less than a minute later, stopper Katelynn Eudy sent a long pass forward to Banner, who ran the ball in and placed it behind the keeper to make the score 5-0. In the 51st minute, Banner scored again, with an assist from Smith. Five minutes later, Smith brought the ball up the sideline and crossed it in to Melinda Eggers who scored in the 56th minute. Under two
minutes later, Perry assisted Smith on her second goal of the evening.
With more subs playing at a time, and with some of the back line playing forward it wasn’t until the 76th minute of the game before Avery struck again. Normally playing outside back, junior Kaley Faulkner was moved forward and put her speed to good use, taking a pass from Eggers to score her first goal of the season.
Keeper Mercedes Bentley rarely touched the ball on the evening, and earned another shutout. This was the tenth Viking shutout out of 15 games. Of 20 shots in the first half by Avery, three scored. In the second half, six goals were scored out of 25 shots on goal.
Junior Jennie Elrod is still sidelined with shin splints. Hopefully she and Stanley will soon be back in the starting lineup. The Lady Vikings travel to Johnson City to take on Providence Academy on Friday, April 30th. Game time is 4:30 PM.
Avery plays at home next Monday, May 3rd and away on Wednesday at Mitchell. Friday, May 7th is Senior Night, the final regular season home game for seniors Elyse Perry and Hayden Blackburn. Fan support is encouraged, especially on Senior Night, as the Lady Vikings play Thomas Jefferson, with a possible regular season conference title as TJCA beat Polk 1-0 on Wednesday.
The Gryphons' conference record is 9-1 and the Lady Vikings stand at 9-1-1. Thomas Jefferson must play Polk and Hendersonville again before they play at Avery. TJ’s home crowd was numerous and very loud and exuberant. (thanks to Serena Smith for information used in compiling this report)
