Soddy-Daisy scores one late on Walker Valley, clinches top slot for postseason

Soddy-Daisy's Soni Whalen and Walker Valley's Emily Anderson pursue the ball Tuesday, September 20, 2016 at Walker Valley High School.
Soddy-Daisy's Soni Whalen and Walker Valley's Emily Anderson pursue the ball Tuesday, September 20, 2016 at Walker Valley High School.

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - The match between Soddy-Daisy and Walker Valley wasn't an all-or-nothing affair, but it was close.

Soddy-Daisy clinched at least a piece of the District 5-AAA girls' soccer championship and secured a host role throughout the upcoming district tournament with a 1-0 victory over the host Lady Mustangs.

Summer Ghaffari scored from an Amy Rasmussen assist with 6:34 left to play.

There is still one district match for Soddy-Daisy to play - Thursday vs. East Hamilton - but the outcome won't affect postseason standing for the Lady Trojans (10-2-1, 6-0).

"I told my girls all week that (this) was going to be a one-goal game, that somebody was going to win by a goal, but I did expect there to be more scoring," Soddy-Daisy coach Moises Drumond said.

Walker Valley (7-6-3, 4-2-1) controlled the first half, although it was scoreless.

"In the first half we had seven shots on target and should've scored on at least one of those. I knew it was going to be a very tight game," Lady Mustangs coach Nathan Brown said. "That's the thing about Soddy-Daisy. If you don't put them away early, they're going to come back and bite you, and that's exactly what happened."

Both teams had their chances, and more than once fullbacks with kick-outs in the box saved their keepers.

Drumond was somewhat surprised to get the shutout because of his respect for Walker Valley's front line, but he asked at halftime for more intensity and got it in the second half.

"Intensity was the focus of our halftime talk," Drumond said. "We had to raise our intensity to their level. They were much more intense in the first half, and because of that they controlled the first half."

Soddy-Daisy applied more pressure in the second half and limited Walker Valley's possession time and scoring threats.

The Soddy-Daisy coach was extremely pleased with his fullbacks. Led Tuesday by Carly Pifer, the group also consists of Anna Lanter, Maddie Ryans and Jordan Lyons. The keeper was Bailey Coyner.

Asked if the teams were that evenly matched, Drumond nodded his affirmation.

"We were that even last year, and we are again this year," he said. "They're good. This year they're senior-heavy. They've played for him for four years, and they're very organized."

Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.

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