With the school year cranking back up for Baylor and Chattanooga Christian this week, their girls' soccer teams hit the pitch at CCS for their season opener Tuesday night. Both squads had to shake some offseason rust, and Baylor came away with the 1-0 win.
The defending state champions in Division II-AA got the result they wanted, but it may take a few more games for the Lady Red Raiders to find their form.
"Any time you can come here and get a (winning) result is great, but you can tell, for us, it's early in the season," Baylor coach Curtis Blair said. "We're still trying to find our identity and see who's going to play where. The way to find that out is to put them in there and figure it out as you go. You could tell it was our first game."
Baylor created some early opportunities and forced CCS keeper Lucy Sandhoff to make a save on a shot from close range. From there, the Lady Chargers settled into the game a bit to limit the visitors' potent attack.
"I was a little frustrated with how we started out, but totally on their own they turned a switch," CCS coach Cal Sneller said. "They were able to say, 'How do get to playing our game?' and adjusted well in the first half."
The teams played to a scoreless draw at halftime, and a game that had tipped toward Baylor's favor at the start seemed more level at the whistle. But the Lady Red Raiders started fast again in the second half to reapply some pressure.
This time, Maddie Reap was able to capitalize on a scoring opportunity. A quality cross was lifted into the box and slipped to Reap, who took a touch to put it on her left foot and finish with five minutes burned in the half.
"We got a ball wide and were able to get a good service across," Blair said. "Maddie had a good hit on the ball. It was nice to see a good service in, because that's something we've worked a lot on and haven't been able to do very well yet. So that was good."
CCS continued to adjust and limited Baylor from there to stay within striking distance. The Lady Charges were able to string some passes together, but the search for an equalizer was tough when met with a swarming defense in the final third.
Addie Henry had the best chance for CCS, taking a free kick just outside the box. She put a solid stroke on it, but the ball never curled down and sailed just over the bar.
"We were able to possess the ball a decent amount and be patient," Sneller said. "We have one with good speed up top, but Baylor closes it out so quickly. We're still trying to find our familiarity as a team and figure out everyone's role, but there are some good things to build on."
The Baylor defense was able to maintain the clean sheet even when CCS sent defensive anchor Kate Dirkse into an attacking position to try to generate offense. The back line handled most of the duties and keeper Peyton Randolph was able to handle the rest for a shutout to begin the season.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com