The Chuckey-Doak soccer team won every aspect of Tuesday night’s game with Gatlinburg-Pittman except the one that mattered most, the scoreboard.
The Lady Black Knights kept the ball at their feet all night and sent a flurry of shots at the frame, but none were good enough to beat the keeper in a 1-0 loss to their District 1-A foe.
“We out shot them at a ridiculous rate, we controlled possession throughout, but we couldn’t put it in the back of the net,” Chuckey-Doak coach Anna Ricker said. “We took more corners, we had more direct kicks, in every facet we had more chances to score, but they were able to take advantage of one they had.”
The decisive goal came in the 50th minute on perhaps the only possession of the night where Chuckey-Doak let the ball stay on its end of the field too long. After the ball bounced around near the box Chloe Mejias took possession at the top of the 18 and worked her defender one-on-one to the right. At 12 yards she pulled up and banged her shot off the left post and into the net.
Much of the remainder of the second half was played in the Lady Black Knights’ attacking third but Chuckey-Doak could not beat keeper Naomi Ogle. Chuckey-Doak attempted 30 shots on Thursday, with 16 of them on frame, but too few made Ogle move off her mark.
“I felt like we carried everything wide instead of going down the middle of the field, and that made our shots more difficult. We need to create better chances, and then take better shots that challenge the keeper,” Ricker said.
Chuckey-Doak’s attacking runs began in the second minute when Addy Bradley made a good run up the middle before passing to Lindsey Rojas whose shot went wide.
In the 10th minute Caitlin Larsen charged up the left side with numbers behind her, but ultimately Chuckey-Doak settled for a 40-yard shot form Serenity Roper.
In the early going the Lady Knights found shots, but it was not until their eighth shot in the 32nd minute that they put one on frame.
Chuckey-Doak’s midfield and backline controlled the first 40 minutes and only allowed the Lady Highlanders to attempt two shots, both from beyond the box.
In the second half Chuckey-Doak moved Hailey Williamson to the front of the formation and the intensity of its attack increased, but still no shots stretched the net.
In just the first minute of the second half it looked as though Chuckey-Doak might take the lead when Williamson started a counterattack that had Gatlinburg chasing. She passed ahead to Larsen who took a shot from 10 yards, but the ball flew wide.
In the 43rd minute Rojas got a one-on-one chance with the keeper from inside the 18-yard box, but Ogle made easy work of the attempt.
Shots from Williamson and Rojas kept flying throughout the second half, but to no avail.
Two minutes after Gatlinburg-Pittman went in front Chuckey-Doak looked as through it had a sure equalizer. Rojas sent a perfect cross into the box from the right side and it found Larsen at the far post. Larsen tried to punch in a goal, but Ogle made a diving stop and pushed the ball out of bounds.
Chuckey-Doak took six more shots in the next 10 minutes, but none of them made the keeper work.
As the clock ticked down Gatlinburg became more defensive and Chuckey-Doak’s opportunities became fewer.
Chuckey-Doak now falls to 0-2 in District 1-A play.
“There were good things tonight, but sometimes you are unlucky and can’t get the ball to go in,” Ricker said. “We just have keep playing hard. We are digging ourselves a hole in the district, we just have to play harder and finish strong. This is a young team that can get better as the season goes on. Hopefully we can be a sleeper come tournament time.”
