CSAS played to a thrilling 4-4 draw when they hosted Soddy Daisy Tuesday night. Senior Cheyenne Frye starred, claiming all four goals for the Lady Patriots.
The game started with a bang. Frye scored off a header from a corner supplied by Zeva Phillips in the fifth minute. The duo proved the Achillies heal of the Trojans all night with three of the Patriot’s four goals coming off corners taken by Phillips and finished by Frye.
The Senior 9 dominated as the focal point of Patriot’s attack. Her physical presence served as the perfect safety valve to help spring her teams attack and her relentless drive towards the ball on set pieces often finished them off.
CSAS looked to hit on the counter with quick build up and continues rotations between the front three and the three-man midfield. Its movement off the ball kept the Trojan’s backline off kilter and on the back foot.
Soddy Daisy, however, always seemed to find a response.
The Trojans played in a similar setup to the Patriots but with more of a focus on direct, counter attacking soccer. Their wingers would look to receive the ball wide and then find a switch or play through the channels to an oncoming runner.
CSAS did itself no favors with its defensive structure in the first half. Its back four stayed narrow giving the Trojan’s wingers plenty of space and time to get their head up and find an option. This created the Trojan’s first goal—with Makae Hickey hitting on the counter before burying a shot to equalize just two minutes after Frye put the Patriots ahead.
Much of the first hour of play followed a similar pattern. Frye would score only to see the Trojans respond immediately to equalize. The climax came in the 60th minute when Soddy Daisy capitalized on its own set piece to level things at three. A short corner found Junior Bethany Green with loads of time at the top of the box to hit the purest of darts into the top corner—rattling the frame to add to the cinematic texture of the goal.
If the first 60 minutes was a marathon of goals and chances—the last 20 became the 100-yard dash.
The game opened up with end-to-end action. CSAS ran its normal attack trying to optimize the number of touches Frye could get on the ball. Soddy Daisy, still living and dying by the counter, evolved to relying almost completely on the individual efforts of Green who was wreaking havoc down the left sideline.
Sticking to the script—CSAS struck first off, you guessed it, a corner finding its way to the head of Frye.
With just 10 minutes left to play, CSAS dropped back and sought to see ought the remainder of the game.
The Trojans, now needing to reach into their bag and muster up one more response, stayed the course but with one minor tweak. Head Coach Moises Drumond moved Goalkeeper Emilie Burris up top to help bolster their attack.
CSAS held stout, withstanding attack after attack. The home fans had all but assumed victory, beginning to pack up once the clock ticked under a minute left to play.
The Trojans had other ideas, however.
With what would be the last kick of the match, the fresh legs of Burris outran her marker and found herself on the end of a last-gasp effort to get the ball forward. Showing great composure, Burris slotted it past her former counterpart to complete to comeback and seal the result at 4-4.
Praising his team’s resiliency, Drumond pointed to the playoffs and the need for such composure under pressure to succeed.
CSAS move to 6-8-1 as it looks to travel to Silverdale Thursday. Soddy Daisy, now 8-3-1, will host Grace Academy Thursday.
Game Summary:
CSAS 3 1 – 4
Soddy Daisy 2 2 – 4
Goal Scorers:
CSAS- Cheyenne Frye (4)
Soddy Daisy- Makae Hickey, Bethany Green (2), Emilie Burris