East Hamilton girls’ soccer coach John Millard was quick to admit that Thursday night’s performance against McMinn Central was not his team’s best effort. Still, he could be thankful that the sub-par output came when it did.
The visiting Chargerettes came out with a more aggressive approach to the game and had plenty of chances, but the two teams managed only a scoreless tie at the Redoubt complex on the last day of the regular season. McMinn Central outshot the ninth-ranked Lady Hurricanes 11-8, but East Hamilton used a late surge in the final 20 minutes to create some dangerous opportunities in the battle between teams with playoff byes.
“I thought we played frazzled,” Millard said. “McMinn Central was very aggressive; they did a good job of putting pressure on the ball immediately.
“We definitely didn’t have our best stuff.”
East Hamilton did have the best chance to score, however. Late in the second half, Yinka Ladapo crossed the ball from the right side to freshman Ali Fugatt, who had a point-blank attempt from right in front of the goal but sailed it high.
“In the second half, I felt we started to do the things we do well, and it led to some opportunities,” Millard said.
The Chargerettes forward tandem of Nikita Raper and Ashley Johnson spent a lot of time deep in East Hamilton territory in both halves, ripping off shots whenever they had the chance and keeping defenders Jennifer Fletcher and Kayla Auger busy. Millard praised goalkeeper Kendra Ivins, who finished with 10 saves – including a diving stop on what seemed to be a chippy shot by Maddie Young, who was wide open on the back side after a cross.
McMinn Central coach Bill McConkey, who is fielding an extremely young team this year, was pleased with the effort but disappointed his team couldn’t score for the fifth consecutive game.
“This was the best we’ve played in those five games,” he noted. “We’re starting to create more opportunities, but we have to finish.”
Both teams have byes into the semifinals of their district tournaments. The Lady Hurricanes (12-3-2), the District 6-A/AA champions, will host the winner of Saturday’s East Ridge-Red Bank game Tuesday evening. McMinn Central (6-5-2), which finished second in District 5, will have a few days to rest before hosting the winner between Silverdale Baptist and Sequoyah.
“We definitely need the rest,” McConkey said. “We’ve had some time off, but that time was injury-filled. If we get better, we’ll be OK.”