Boyd girls cruise vs. Cougars

By DALE STUBBLEFIELD / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Leah Walker of the Boyd Christian soccer team winds up to send the ball upfield during Thursday afternoon’s victory over Middle Tennessee Christian. (Dale Stubblefield photo)

Thursday at Boyd Christian the Lady Broncos high school soccer team picked up their first win of the year by downing Middle Tennessee Christian 4-0 in District 9-A action.

The Lady Broncos are now 1-1 on the season after falling to Cascade on Tuesday 2-0, in a game which was called at the half due to severe weather.

The Lady Broncos out-shot the Lady Cougars 23-9 Thursday, with Lady Bronco goalie Courtney Hard coming up with 15 saves on the day.

First-half action started a little slow for both teams, but the Lady Broncos found an offensive push five minutes in when a Lady Cougar was called for a push in the back awarding Boyd a direct kick. From that moment on, the Lady Broncos took control of the game.

Shots from Victoria Woods, Leah Walker and Cassie Wanamaker just missed their mark. With 12 minutes left in the first half, MTCS goalie Leah Holmes cleared the ball after an offensive attempt by Boyd. Holmes punted the ball past the mid-field stripe, allowing defensive back Emily Newby the opportunity to kick and clear the ball back down field. The ball sailed over Holmes and into the net as Newby put the Lady Broncos on the scoreboard.

Boyd stayed on the offensive attack with three consecutive shots. The Lady Cougars tried to clear the ball to their offense, but Boyd’s defense intercepted and turned possession back over to its offense. Monica Hillis put the Lady Broncos up 2-0 just before the half after finding an open net as Boyd held a 2-0 lead at the break.

Middle Tennessee Christian open the second half with the ball but few things changed as the Lady Broncos quickly took back control of the game. Good passing and communication between the Lady Broncos resulted in two more goals in the second half.

Becca Reynolds got in on the scoring as she pushed the ball in front of the Lady Cougars net, firing a shot from the left side with 21 minutes left in the contest for a 3-0 lead.

The Lady Cougars had few opportunities to score in the half, but did manage five shots at goal. With six minutes left in the game Victoria Woods took the ball after it bounced off the cross bar from a Wanamaker attempt and found the back of the net for the Lady Broncos’ fourth goal of the day and secured the victory.

The Lady Broncos will hit the road on Tuesday for a District 9-A matchup against Cornerville.