Emilee Roberson of CHS Soccer
A great start and a strong finish described Saturday for the CHS Lady Raider soccer team. Hosting their own scrimmage play day, Coffee County opened the day with a win before a pair of disheartening draws. They closed the day with a near flawless performance in a 0 to 0 tie with defending state tournament quarterfinalist Lincoln County.
Coffee County opened the day with a 3 to 1 win over Cascade. The Lady Raiders got goals from Emilee Roberson, Jessica Barrera and Regan Ellison in the win. Squaring off against Mt. Juliet, the Lady Raiders led 2 to 1 before a defensive breakdown allowed the Lady Bears to score the tying goal in the closing minutes of the game. Coffee County got goals from Roberson and Allie Amado in the contest.
In the afternoon session, Coffee County opened with Shelbyville and got on the board in the 3rd minute as Roberson got her 3rd tally of the day. The Lady Raiders dominated the possession and kept Shelbyville on the defensive until the closing minutes. The Lady Eagles capitalized on a defensive breakdown to get off a shot on Coffee County keeper Ashley Woods in the 29th minute. Woods dove to her right for the save, but the deflection was corralled by Shelbyville and pushed past Woods as she scrambled to her feet. With less than 90 seconds remaining, Coffee County could not mount a sustained attack settling for the draw.
Coach David Amado was animated and blunt with his young team calling the performances unacceptable. “We were tied by two teams we dominated” said Amado following the game. He challenged his squad to step up their game against the 2 time defending district champion, and state tournament qualifying Lady Falcons of Fayetteville. The Lady Raiders were outmatched early as Lincoln County got off 7 shots on frame in the first 9 minutes. Only a spectacular effort by senior keeper Ashley Woods kept the match scoreless as she turned away all 7 shots. Coffee County was only able to fire off one shot, with it coming in the 10th minute on a free kick by Allie Amado.
Following the match, Coach Amado was ecstatic about his team’s performance against Lincoln County. After the shaky start of his defense in the first 10 minutes, he praised the team for making the necessary adjustments to help out Woods between the pipes. When asked about the positives on the day, Amado had this to say:
He also singled out the play of his goal keeper Ashley Woods. When asked about her play, Amado had this to say:
The JV Lady Raiders finished the day with a record of 2-0-1 on the day. The JV team “played really well” said JV & keeper coach Lafredo Ramirez.
The Lady Raiders will host a pair of scrimmage games this week at the Raider Soccer Field. Coffee County will take on Nolensville on Tuesday at 7 PM. On Thursday, Ooltewah visits the Raider pitch for a 6 PM contest. The Lady Raiders open the season on Tuesday, August 14th when they travel to Smyrna. The varsity game will kick off at 7 PM.
