Chattanooga Christian School got off to a slow start in its girls' soccer home matchup against District 7-AA foe Notre Dame, but the Lady Chargers surged as the game went on and registered a 3-0 win Thursday night.
Early in the first half, CCS relied on Olivia Hoffman's speed to create chances as she sprinted past Notre Dame defenders to collect long balls over the top. She was able to fire two straight shots at the opposing goal but couldn't convert, and the long plays prevented the Lady Chargers from getting in rhythm.
"It's rare Olivia doesn't score a goal, because she's so dangerous," CCS coach Cal Sneller said. "I think our girls got happy because they saw her running past everybody, but it doesn't work if you keep doing that, because you tire Olivia out. We kept plugging away and getting after it."
Addie Henry sparked the Lady Chargers with a goal-scoring strike with 7:10 to go before halftime. Henry, who was visibly upset after a shot minutes before slowly trickled into the keeper's hands, got the ball from Laura Beth Turner at the top of the box and this time made solid contact to send it high and into the net.
Now playing with a lead, a more relaxed CCS squad was able to continue controlling possession and create dangerous opportunities around the Notre Dame goal.
Kyra Duble extended the lead just before the halftime whistle with a calm, quick shot that seemed to catch the defense by surprise. Like Henry, Duble took the shot from long range and deposited it just over the keeper's fingertips to make it 2-0.
"We just made too many mistakes against a good team," Lady Irish coach Jim Schermerhorn said. "We kept giving the ball away, and you can't do that and win. We are young in a lot of positions, but so are they. We made a lot of mistakes, and that was the difference."
Notre Dame continued to struggle holding possession in the second half, and the CCS back line held the Lady Irish scoreless and limited their chances to well outside the penalty area.
"Defensively, we picked it up as the game went on," Sneller said. "They seemed hesitant at first, but they were confident by the end."
Duble tacked on the only goal of the second half with 8:50 to go, sharply volleying a pinpoint cross from Hoffman.
"She's so relaxed with it," Sneller said of Duble. "She's a senior and provides tremendous leadership. She doesn't necessarily like her position running around like crazy, but she does it because it's what the team needs, and she's so creative with the ball."
Sneller said his team enjoys playing in front of a home crowd and has that goal in mind with the postseason looming around the corner.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com