Chattanooga Christian tops Signal Mountain, 4-2

Chattanooga Christian senior Natalie Thedford says assists in soccer are "more rewarding" than scoring goals. She'll just have to find a way to cope with her performance Tuesday night.

Thedford matched teammate Jennifer Fortmiller with two goals and assisted on one as the Lady Chargers defeated District 7-A/AA rival Signal Mountain 4-2 at CCS.

The pair's four goals came after Signal's Lila Fisher scored early in the match. Thedford had one goal before halftime, and her second goal on a breakaway gave the Lady Chargers a lead they wouldn't lose.

Fortmiller added two goals in an eight-minute span to put the game away.

"It was nice to get one for myself," said Thedford, who has five assists this season.

"We came into the game knowing that Signal Mountain was quick offensively and it was going to be tough to have them so soon, so we hoped to be ready. We had to play well defensively, and I think we did a pretty good job."

CCS coach Cal Sneller agreed with the defensive assessment. The Lady Chargers were able to deflect numerous passes, which slowed Signal's fast-paced attack.

"Since we were able to get in the way of some passes, it gives Lauren [Pruitt, the CCS keeper] a chance," he said. "Our defense stepped up tonight."

Sneller was equally impressed by the offensive output, as his team was able to retain possession for long portions of time. That aided in the defensive effort because it kept the ball away from the Lady Eagles.

"I like how we connected on passes," he said. "We did a good job moving into space and keeping the ball; sometimes ball possession is your best defense."

Signal's Becca Haskins scored in the 68th minute for the final margin.

"We just got outplayed tonight; we weren't like ourselves," Lady Eagles coach Pam Shelton said. "We just have to regroup and come back. I think us scoring first gave the team a false sense of security, like this wasn't going to be a tough game.

"They really dominated us tonight, but we just have to get ready for the next game because the girls are disappointed. They didn't want to play like this."