Jenna Garretson of CHS Soccer
It took a pair of Lady Raider rallies, but the Coffee County Central High school soccer team escaped Columbia on Monday night with a 4 to 3 district win. Coffee County needed three 2nd half goals to hold off the Lions in a crucial battle for tournament seeding.
Columbia opened the scoring with a goal in the 6th minute. Coffee County leveled the score in the 30th minute when Caitlyn Moore scored after a corner kick feed from Allie Amado. That momentum was lost 3 minutes later as Columbia scored again to take a 2 to 1 lead into halftime. In the 2nd half, Columbia stretched their lead to 3 to 1 after a goal in the 49th minute to put Coffee County on the ropes. But the Lady Raiders responded in the 52nd minute on a goal by Amado, assisted by Sam Ellison. Five minutes later, Jenna Garretson was dragged down in the box and Karson Young converted on the penalty kick to level the match at 3 with 23 minutes remaining. Garretson added the game winner in the 74th minute on a breakaway to cap the dramatic comeback win.
The win improved Coffee County to 11-4-1 on the year and 5-1 in district play. It also assures the Lady Raiders of a 2nd place finish in the district regular season and an opportunity to host a possible 2 district tournament games at the Raider Soccer Field. The Lady Raiders are back at home on Thursday night when they play host to Community for Senior Night. That match is set to get underway at 7 PM, with Senior Night activities to start around 6:30.
