CCS edges Central Magnet 1-0, faces Notre Dame

Chattanooga Christian's Sofie James, left, vies for the ball with Central Magnet's Alex Shea during CCS's 1-0 Region 4-A/AA semifinal win Tuesday night in Murfreesboro.
Chattanooga Christian's Sofie James, left, vies for the ball with Central Magnet's Alex Shea during CCS's 1-0 Region 4-A/AA semifinal win Tuesday night in Murfreesboro.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- The game was much closer than the first two postseason meetings when the Central Magnet program was just getting started in 2011.

The outcome and heartbreak remain the same.

Chattanooga Christian ended the Lady Tigers' season with a 1-0 win Tuesday night at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in the Region 4-A/AA girls' soccer semifinals. The Lady Chargers (13-6-2) will play Notre Dame on Thursday for the region title.

CCS is 4-0 against Central Magnet in postseason play, with two straight 1-0 victories in region semifinals.

Central Magnet coach Michael Bennett said the game had a state-tournament feel due to the level of competition.

"Whoever is getting out of (this game), I fully expect to get to state," Bennett said. "Because of that, I think there is always some apprehension and anxiousness in the moment. The first five minutes we sat back and it was ugly. But we adjusted."

Kyra Duble's shot in the 12th minute off a pass from Eden Brock skipped past Central goalkeeper Abby Coleman for the CCS goal.

"They are going to give us a good fight every time," CCS coach Cal Sneller said. "They've got a good squad. Injuries held them up, but they held it together very well.

"They did a nice job changing some things up on defense. We had some good looks. Corners should be enough for us. I don't like that we didn't take care of it on those restarts."

Central Magnet (12-2-2) dropped to 0-5 in region semifinal games. The Lady Tigers have scored one goal in region play since the varsity program began in 2011.

CCS (13-6-2) shut down forward Madison Shea, the District 8-A/AA MVP. The defense collapsed on her, keeping her from many open shots on goal.

"The defense is very confident," Sneller said. "They are a young bunch. They said, 'No, we are not going to (mark up on her). I thought they did a nice job. They are never there alone. They are a tight-knit unit."

Bennett said he knew goals would be difficult to go by against CCS.

"You take a look at their record," Bennett said. "CAK didn't score a goal. Maryville scored one goal. I knew that was something to worry about, because those are soccer powerhouses."

* Notre Dame 4, Smith County 0: The Lady Irish scored all four goals in the first half. Emma Higgins had two and Kelsey Barta and Ashley McMeen netted one apiece for Notre Dame, which had a 19-4 margin in shots.

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