Chuckey-Doak and West Ridge took to the pitch in Lower Afton Monday evening to complete the scrimmage opportunity that was washed out last week. It was the Lady Knights who showed signs of a team developing chemistry as they endured the heat and came away with a 2-0 edge on the scoreboard.
Coach Anna Ricker was pleased with the way her team worked together, pushed through some scoring droughts and kept the Lady Wolves off the scoreboard.
“We continued to play hard throughout the entire game, especially in the second half,” explained Ricker. “We are showing signs of our chemistry growing and, if we continue, we will win some games.”
Neither team was able to generate much offensive momentum in the first half. Both keepers were stout in keeping the ball out of the net, with Lady Knight Sarah Yates making seven saves for the game.
Chuckey-Doak had its best opportunity late in the opening half after being awarded a penalty kick following a foul inside the box. However, Kenley Merriam’s attempt sailed over the goal, and the teams went to halftime deadlocked at 0-0.
The Lady Knights finally broke through in the second half when Caitlin Larsen sent a direct kick over the outstretched West Ridge defenders and into the back corner of the net to give Chuckey-Doak a 1-0 lead.
Larsen was elated to put the Knights on the board first.
“As Coach says, the first goal of the game is always the hardest, and I’m glad to be the one to score and bring the momentum for the rest of the game,” Larsen said. “As soon as I got fouled, I saw the goalie tuck in toward the near post and saw the left side open up, so I took that shot and made it.”
Chuckey-Doak added an insurance goal later in the second half when Khloe Knight beat a couple of defenders in front of the net and slipped a shot past the keeper that trickled past the keeper for a 2-0 advantage.
“I wasn’t expecting it to go in,” explained Knight, “but when Lindsey sent me the pass, I took the shot and it did.”
Chuckey-Doak is scheduled to travel to Unicoi County on Tuesday and Morristown West on Thursday, weather permitting, for its final two scrimmages before opening the regular season at the Smoky Mountain Cup in Gatlinburg on August 21-22.
Larsen believes the team’s ability to improve its chemistry will be one of the keys to a successful season.
“We had a lot of good individual play, but we need to learn how to connect even better to win more games,” Larsen concluded.
