The Boyd-Buchanan girls’ soccer team has been working on being more competitive in its district.
Along the way, the Lady Bucs are learning to be more competitive against everyone.
Alanna Barnes scored off a breakaway in the 68th minute, and Boyd-Buchanan advanced to the Gold division semifinals of the Chattanooga Christian tournament with a 3-2 victory over Shelbyville on Friday.
East Hamilton and Signal Mountain played in the Blue division Friday night.
Boyd-Buchanan (6-1-1) will face Chattanooga Christian, ranked fourth in the state in Class A/AA, at 10:30 this morning on the main CCS field. The tournament hosts defeated Harpeth 5-0.
Boyd-Buchanan coach Joe Pope was pleased with his team’s ability to work on preseason goals.
“We wanted to focus on winning the 50-50 balls, communicating and being more aggressive,” he said. “We feel that if we stick to doing those things, we can compete with anyone.”
Falling behind 1-0 on a goal by Lauren Warren, the Lady Bucs responded with a goal less than 20 seconds later, as Barnes fed Madison Megnin. They took a 2-1 edge on a goal by Elizabeth Ault before halftime, but Shelbyville tied the game in the 42nd minute on a Kayla Anderson score.
After Barnes’ go-ahead score, Boyd-Buchanan keeper Anna Beasley made a big save on a Taylor Bearden free kick in the final moments.
Chattanooga Christian scored four goals in the first 16 minutes. Anna Hoffman finished with two, while Tara Denton, Natalie Thedford and Ellie Henry also scored.
The Lady Chargers (4-3-1) limited Harpeth without a shot on goal.
“The girls have been wanting to score and were focused on that today,” CCS coach Cal Sneller said. “They also wanted to limit the other team’s chances.
“It’s demoralizing to another team when you’re able to get goals that fast. The girls came in ready to play and got the job done early.”
One here, one gone
Soccer fans hoping to catch two of the best non-area players in the state at this weekend’s tournament will get only half of their wish.
Page senior Kate Maguigan, who has committed to play soccer at the University of Michigan, is here to lead her Lady Patriots in pursuit of a Blue division title. Maguigan led the state with 53 goals in 2008 and came into this season with 124, which will probably put her in the top 10 of the state’s all-time leading scorers.
Livingston Academy senior Kat Nigro – the 2009 Gatorade Tennessee Player of the Year – is not in attendance this weekend, instead taking off to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a visit to the University of North Carolina, where she has committed to play next year.
“As much as we would like to have her, I told her to go up there and have fun this weekend,” Livingston coach Ethan King said. “She’s one of the best, so the other girls will have to step it up a lot.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6311.