East Ridge soccer team flirting with history

East Ridge's Jahiely Sales (11) heads the ball at midfield as Central's Maclaine McBride (2) plays close in first half action Tuesday at Camp Jordan.
East Ridge's Jahiely Sales (11) heads the ball at midfield as Central's Maclaine McBride (2) plays close in first half action Tuesday at Camp Jordan.

History may be in the future for the East Ridge girls' soccer team.

In defeating Central 4-0 on Tuesday at the Weldon F. Osborne Stadium, the Lady Pioneers guaranteed themselves two more games this season.

And two wins next week would give East Ridge its first region championship in school history, according to coach Jeremy McIntyre.

photo East Ridge's Serena Smith, left, gets clear of Central's Alyssa Rosenzweig (13) and scores the first goal for the Pioneers Tuesday at Camp Jordan.

"We've never won a region game," McIntyre said while his players enjoyed victory doughnuts after the District 6-A/AA semifinal at Camp Jordan. They'll play for the district title and a region host spot Thursday.

East Ridge senior Kayla Deck scored twice, with teammates Serena Smith and Abby Sweatman adding goals.

"We moved the ball faster in the second half, and our defense, which is always solid, played great tonight," McIntyre said. "Kayla has very good tough and she's a great finisher. Abby is great in the middle like a quarterback feeding everybody.

"But our defense is probably as good as any in the city."

The Lady Purple Pounders (4-10) concluded their season Tuesday. No tears were shed on the sideline after a game the Lady Pioneers controlled from the opening minutes.

"We were just starting to get going, getting healthy and playing well," Central coach Scott Phillips said. "East Ridge is really good. We're not quite there yet.

"We played hard and hung in there, way better than losing to them (8-0) earlier in the year."

East Ridge took five quality shots within the first 10 minutes of the game. One hit the crossbar and another, one from point-blank range, was smothered by Rebecca Allen. Smith scored about 13 minutes into the contest.

"It feels good to win and know that we're in the district championship during my last year," Sweatman said. "We connected on our passes and we were able to finish tonight."

Deck scored on a solid shot from the left side of the box, and Sweatman scored on a blast from the right side leading to a 3-0 lead at halftime.

Deck scored again - burying a rebound - with about 20 minutes to play, resulting in both coaches using their reserve players.

"Our bench took it up even another level," McIntyre said. "That may help on Thursday in the championship game."

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.

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