ENGLEWOOD, Tenn. - The emotions around the Grace Academy soccer team following Wednesday's district-semifinal win over McMinn Central were a mixture of excitement and relief all at once.
The 2-1 victory ended a three-match losing streak to the Chargerettes, and propelled the Lady Golden Eagles to the 5-A/AA championship match this evening against Boyd-Buchanan, a 3-0 victor over Silverdale Academy in the other semifinal.
Grace scored twice early, attacking at every chance they had under the encouragement of head coach Gretchen Hammel.
"The girls needed a confidence builder, so I wanted them to keep attacking," Hammel said. "I wanted the girls to know what they are capable of, because I know what they can do. Sometimes it's the best defense when you're ahead."
Grace (12-4) jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Elisabeth Mouw and Holly Badger. The latter came off a free kick, while Mouw scored after intercepting a clear attempt by the Chargerettes.
The lead gave them some breathing room, while McMinn Central (8-9-1) started to press forward, led by Jessica Young and Kaile Parker. The pressure paid off with about five minutes to go, as Yasmine Carter got a foot on a Kailee Rickman cross and slotted it past the goalkeeper to cut the deficit in half, but the Chargerettes got no closer.
The Chargerettes' youth-laden roster loses only four seniors.
"You can't play a team like Grace, let them score, and try to play catchup," McMinn Central coach Bill McConkey said. "It feels good for us to get to where we ended up at; we beat Grace to get second place in the district, and I'm proud of the team for that."
• Boyd-Buchanan 3, Silverdale Academy 0: Emily Hauke had two goals and an assists for the top-seeded Lady Bucs (11-5-2), who will host Grace tonight.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.