The Chuckey-Doak Lady Black Knights put a lot of shots on goal Tuesday night in the Region 1-A semifinals, but they only needed two of them to find their mark to defeat the Oneida Lady Indians, 2-1.
“We controlled the ball and we had a lot of shots,” Chuckey-Doak coach Anna Ricker said. “We were unlucky not to score [on multiple shots]. Maybe we were playing a little tight.”
It was a cold night in Lower Afton, and it’s easy to believe any player was tight for most of the game, with temperatures in the forties and a drizzle of rain throughout the contest. But the weather conditions did not keep the Lady Black Knights from establishing their offensive attack and keeping the pressure on the Oneida defense for the majority of the first half.
Chuckey-Doak’s defense was without veteran Emma Hoxie on Tuesday due to a red card against University High in the District 1-A championship game. That forced the Lady Black Knights to move pieces around its formation and impacted the cohesion of the unit.
Chuckey-Doak had 17 shots-on-goal in the first half, while the Lady Indians managed only three. But the story of the half was keeper Kamryn Stiltner’s ability to keep shots out of the goal for Oneida.
The junior keeper was busy throughout, but in several key moments kept the game from getting out of hand with saves for her team.
With a barrage of shots on goal for Chuckey-Doak, it took 20 minutes before Layla Fox snuck a shot by Stiltner in the bottom corner of the goal to give the Lady Black Knights the 1-0 lead. That would be all for scoring plays in the first half, as Chuckey-Doak took the slim lead to the halftime break.
It wasn’t until the 57th minute that another goal would be scored, when Tayvn Southerland sent a direct kick from nearly midfield on goal. The shot was blocked, but Fox was there for the rebound and put-back, giving Chuckey-Doak a 2-0 lead.
The Lady Black Knights continued to dominate the offensive attack for much of the second half, but a direct kick from just beyond the box dropped over the head of Cora Merrill for Oneida’s lone goal of the game in the 66th minute.
The Lady Indians attempted to establish an offensive attack over the final 14 minutes, but were unable to get a clear shot before time expired.
With the win the Lady Black Knights advance to the Region 1-A championship game, and will travel to Kingston on Thursday. Kingston beat University High 6-1 in the other semifinal.
