GPS soccer team ends tie streak, edges Baylor, 2-1

Baylor's Kamryn Bloh heads the ball against GPS's Lily Hopping during their prep soccer match at Girls Preparatory School on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Baylor's Kamryn Bloh heads the ball against GPS's Lily Hopping during their prep soccer match at Girls Preparatory School on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The last serious chant of the night came from Baylor faithful: "See you, Friday! See you, Friday!" in reference to the Baylor-McCallie football game.

Baylor won its volleyball match over GPS earlier in the day Tuesday, but with numerous McCallie boys in blue in attendance, GPS countered with a 2-1 soccer victory over the visiting Red Raiders on Tuesday evening.

It was, as one has come to expect from almost every Baylor-GPS/McCallie athletic contest, a spirited and fast-paced event.

This one was special regardless of the winner because a win by either would end two years of ties.

Sara Corum, a hybrid fullback-midfielder, played through both of those ties, and getting this win was special.

"It means a lot," said the Bruisers' feisty standout. "I think we're building strong toward the end of the year."

The win added to birthday celebrations for GPS's Myra Brock and Lily Hopping, but to coach Patrick Winecoff, getting his first head-coaching win over Baylor was secondary to what may lie ahead with regard to postseason tournament positioning. Everybody gets in, but there is always home-field advantage to the higher seeds.

"Yeah, the win was great, but more than that we need three points in the region standings, but this one put us in first place," he said.

His prematch thoughts actually came to fruition, at least partially.

"I felt like whoever scored first would win it, and I also felt like if we scored one we'd score another one," Winecoff said, adding later than his team is averaging four goals per match.

But he also was complimentary of the Lady Red Raiders.

"Baylor does a great job of organizing their back line. They worked really hard and they're very physical," he offered.

GPS reached the 2015 state semifinal before falling to eventual state champ Briarcrest Christian. Baylor, the other semifinal winner, fell to Briarcrest in the title match.

The win allowed GPS to improve to 3-0-2 in the Division II-AA's tough East/Middle region, while Baylor stands at 1-1 with three ties.

"We had a couple of chances in the beginning that just didn't go our way. We had some balls that bounced around and just couldn't get them in," Baylor coach Curtis Blair said. "For us it's not the big things. The small issues that come back to bite us - everything from training, keeping possession of the ball, checking back on our angles - but we still feel very comfortable about where we are as a team."

* Chattanooga Christian clinched the top seed in District 7-A/AA with a 2-0 victory at Signal Mountain, which will be the district's No. 2 seed. Both will receive first-round byes in the district tournament. Laura Beth Turner and Olivia Hoffman scored the goals.

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

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