Staff photo by Patrick MacCoon / East Hamilton goalkeeper Darci Zeh makes a save during a home match against Signal Mountain on Thursday.Signal Mountain girls' soccer coach Richard Northcutt lost just one starter from each line on the team that won the Class A state title last fall.
Now he hopes an experienced bunch of Lady Eagles can execute a similar style of play to a Spanish fútbol power as they hunt for more hardware this year.
"Every time Barcelona plays, I have to watch them," Northcutt said of the La Liga giants. "It's incredible to see them put the ball down and pass through trouble. Our strategy is to drop the ball and pass it forward. We want to avoid punting and focus on making safe passes and maintaining possession."
Down several players due to injuries already, the short-handed Lady Eagles were sharp defensively and in the midfield in Thursday's 1-0 victory at Class AA East Hamilton.
Camilla Mincy was dangerous on the attacking end and helped spark the goal as her deflected shot bounced right to the left foot of Lilly Whitney, who scored in the 38th minute.
"For the first time this season, we looked calm and relaxed coming out of the back," Northcutt said. "We are good enough to just drop it. We want to pass it forward from the back. We can make mistakes and work through those and be fine.
Staff photo by Patrick MacCoon / East Hamilton junior midfielder Khylia Lamb, left, and Signal Mountain's Kara Wilson work for position during Thursday's match at East Hamilton. The visiting Lady Eagles won 1-0."We really controlled the ball well but then just sputtered in the finishing third. That's kind of what you expect when it's early in the year."
Signal Mountain (3-1) did not allow any breakthroughs by the Lady Hurricanes, though, as a back line of Maddie Avery, Lucy Calhoun and Haleigh Ward sent the ball the other way when faced with pressure.
East Hamilton was outshot 8-4 and missed two scoring opportunities in the 35th minute after senior captain Jessica Dunavant sent a booming free kick that cleared the heads of defenders. The ball went to an advantageous spot for East Hamilton in the box, but the Lady Hurricanes (1-3) could not capitalize.
East Hamilton keeper Darci Zeh turned in a stellar performance, turning away shots on two powerful runs by Mincy, and the Lady Hurricanes' Khylia Lamb and Mia Moore played well in the midfield. Dunavant bolstered the back line, which remains sharp from a run to the Class AA state quarterfinals last year.
"It's important to schedule tough teams like Signal Mountain early in the season," East Hamilton coach Carrie Hill said. "It was good to see our girls playing together under some pressure. Jessica provided a really great chance for us today; we just have to keep working on finishing in the final third."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.