ENGLEWOOD, Tenn. — Whether McMinn Central’s Region 3-A/AA semifinal match against Arts & Sciences could be considered the “Mudbowl” is highly debatable.
One thing is for certain, though; the Chargerettes will have a chance to do it again today.
On an extremely wet field with large puddles, sometimes physical and sometimes “sloppy” play, McMinn Central advanced to their first region championship match since 2002 with a 3-1 victory over the Lady Patriots.
The win, coupled with Boyd-Buchanan’s 1-0 upset of East Hamilton, will give the Chargerettes (9-5-2) another opportunity to play on their home field, as they will host the Lady Bucs for the Region 3-A/AA championship today at 3:30.
CSAS won the regular-season meeting 2-1, but McMinn Central came out with a first-half goal, then topped that off with two more in the final 40 minutes — including the icer by Ashton Robinson with two minutes remaining. Nikita Raper assisted both second-half goals.
“We prepared for them and were ready to play today,” McMinn Central forward Ashley Johnson, who had a goal, said. “We’ve decided that if we play our game, we can with most teams, and I think we’ve proved that.”
The conditions took the game over early, as in the 13th minute, the Chargerettes’ Cayci Coleman scored when a ball slipped through the hands of CSAS keeper Emily Foster.
Despite the conditions, Foster had a great game in goal, finishing with 12 saves as McMinn Central kept pounding shots in her direction.
“I thought she had an excellent game,” CSAS coach Ron Nance said. “She had one mistake when she took her eye off the ball, and they capitalized on it.
“I still think she’s one of the best in the area; she’s super solid.”
The Lady Patriots had cut the lead to 2-1 five minutes prior to Robinson’s goal on a nice header by Maggie Fraser on a Sadie Bradshaw corner kick. They had pushed some extra numbers ahead to attack, but Central countered and Raper got the ball to Robinson for the clincher.
“The girls had been pumped; I knew the outcome was going to be dependent on how hard we pushed,” McConkey said. “We created some opportunities and finished on them.”