Christ Presbyterian Academy tops Chattanooga Christian School, 1-0

photo Chattanooga Christian's Shelby Balch, left, fights for control of the ball with Christ Presbyterian's Kara Wegner Thursday at CCS.

Class A/AA state semifinalCHRIST PRESBYTERIAN 1,CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN 0Halftime score: 0-0. Goal: Kara Wegner. Assist: Lindsay Curtis. Shots on goal: CPA, 6-2. Saves: Ellen Stone 5 (CCS); Meredith Roman 2 (CPA). Records: CPA 20-2-2; CCS 15-5-4.

Chattanooga Christian bowed its back as the Christ Presbyterian Academy girls' soccer team created numerous opportunities with their feet in the Class A/AA state semifinals Thursday.

But the Lady Chargers had no answer for one header.

Freshman forward Kara Wegner's goal in the 67th minute was the game's only score, and it was enough to send the second-ranked Lady Lions to the state championship match.

CPA (20-2-2) will face Christian Academy of Knoxville (23-0-3), which defeated White House 2-0 in the other semifinal, Saturday at 11 a.m. at GPS.

"We knew if we played our game, we'd be fine," CPA coach Brandy Gagliano said. "It was going to be a matter of finishing the chances we created. I felt we created plenty, but they didn't find the back of the net. Kara did a great job of starting from the outside post, and she was in the right place and did exactly what we asked her to do."

Wegner was a heartbreaker for the Lady Chargers in a couple of instances. About 10 minutes before her goal, she had a non-keeper save on a CCS shot about to go in.

The early stages of the match had the Lady Chargers (15-5-4) trying to weather the storm of the Lady Lions attack, which came in waves in the first 40 minutes. CPA's Madi Andres had probably the best opportunity, missing an open-net shot right in front of the goal.

CCS coach Cal Sneller could only breathe relief as the match went into halftime scoreless.

"I really thought we were about to weather another storm in the second half," he said. "I had no idea what to change because we were playing with the wind, and we couldn't do anything against it. That wasn't the soccer we had played all year long, but CPA is very good.

"Then in the first 5-10 minutes of the second half, we were playing and playing well."

CCS started to create a few chances, enough to slow down the CPA attack at times in the second half. Then after Wegner's goal, Hannah Henry tried to spark the attack, as did Allie Vannoy -- who played sparingly after sitting out the quarterfinal with an injury.

The Lady Chargers will lose eight seniors off the state semifinalists.

"I've learned so much from this senior bunch," Sneller said. "They're a very special class. You look at their families -- they're intact. They love the Lord and it permeates everybody. I've learned so much from them.

"Today's disappointing because they're a very skilled bunch and they gave everything. It was a very good year, but injuries hurt us overall. I can't think of anything we would have changed, but this is what you play for and this is where it hurts the most."

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