Johns Creek, Georgia – The Cambridge Lady Bears lost 3-2 after the finish of 2 ten-minute overtime periods, in a highly physical region game, against the Johns Creek Gladiators, on Tuesday, March 9, 2021.
The highly anticipated region game between the teams ranked 1st and 4th did not disappoint. From the whistle, the game was as fast as it was physical. Johns Creek was in control of the ball for the first few minutes of the half, but Junior Ella Crawley shut them down with her consistently tough defensive play.
After 11 minutes of play, Johns Creek would get on the board first with a hard shot to the back of the net. The Lady Bears quickly went down 0-2 when three minutes later the Gladiators scored again. However, Cambridge would not give up. The midfield played strong and made smart passes to the front line.
The Gladiators defense immediately started going after Sophomore Forward Jordynn Dudley. Dudley was tripped on a run with the ball with 16 minutes left on the clock in the first half. Junior, Ella Ciardullo took the free kick with a strong left foot shot that hit the cross bar. Minutes later, Jordynn Dudley took a shot that was deflected by the Defense and resulted in a corner for the Lady Bears. The corner kick was well defended. Ella Ciardullo took a follow up shot on the deflection, but it was saved by the goalie. Then, with 8 minutes left in the first half, the Johns Creek defense finally got called on their too physical play against Jordynn Dudley. Dudley was on a fast breakaway run with the ball when the Johns Creek player made a slide tackle to take her down in the box. The ref awarded the first of seven yellow cards given in the game. Dudley scored on the penalty kick. The Lady Bears went into half time down 1-2.
The second half was more physical than the first. The Lady Bears fought with aggressive, fast play. Shortly after the start of the half, Sophomore Jordynn Dudley and a player from Johns Creek took each other down on the far side of the field. Both were given a yellow card.
Cambridge was able to take their share of shots on goal. The Lady Bears took 20 shots in the game, and the Gladiators took 22. Junior Ella Ciardullo took a hard left foot shot but it would be saved. Jordynn Dudley took a shot that went just high over the net. With 15 minutes left in the game, a Johns Creek player was injured. The Coach was given a yellow card for yelling at the ref.
Senior Kyndall Jenkins played smart, aggressive defense and got the ball to Jordynn Dudley. A Gladiator player would, again, trip Dudley and another yellow card was awarded. Minutes later Kyndall Jenkins would make another great pass to Jordynn Dudley who took a shot that bounced off the pole and was saved. Physical play continued on both sides of the field during the second half and two Lady Bears, Junior Kate Leibel, and Senior Captain Maggie Smith both received yellow cards.
With less than 5 minutes to play in the game, Sophomore Gaby Sanchez made a fast play to get the ball from a Johns Creek player. Sanchez controlled the ball up the sideline and passed the ball to Jordynn Dudley. The goalie came out to make the play, but Jordynn Dudley got around her and scored the goal. The Lady Bears tied the game 2-2. A minute later, Gaby Sanchez would make that same connection with Dudley who was well defended and unable to get the shot off. With 2 minutes left in the game, Johns Creek would start down the field on a run with the ball but Junior, Katelyn Byrne would put tremendous pressure on the player forcing a poor shot which was saved by Olivia Barfield. End of regulation had the score tied at 2 goals for each team.
The first 10-minute overtime period started with both sides playing fast with no signs that they just completed 80 minutes of hard play. The competition was high, both teams wanting this win. Two minutes into play, Jordynn Dudley made a well-placed pass to Gaby Sanchez who took a high shot over the net. Just one minute later, Ella Ciardullo drew a foul and then turned around and gave a foul as well. The Lady Bears kept fighting for the win. With 4 minutes left to play, Freshman Natalie Leibel made a great pass to Jordynn Dudley whose shot was saved. Just one minute later, Johns Creek broke through the midfield with a breakaway, but the Lady Bears Defense saved the shot attempt. In the last minute of the first overtime period, Johns Creek took two shots that were saved by Olivia Barfield and Sophomore Katelyn Hardwick took a shot that went over the net. The first overtime period ended with the score remaining 2-2.
With 4 minutes left in the second overtime, Olivia Barfield made an incredible save on a Johns Creek shot, but it was rebounded, and the Junior goalie could not get control of it. Johns Creek popped it into the goal. The final score after the second overtime was 3-2. All 100 minutes of this game were played hard, fast, and aggressive. The Lady Bears fought for the win and came up just short this time. If Cambridge is to see Johns Creek in the playoffs, the Lady Bears will be ready.
The Lady Bears will host Marist High School for a non-region game on Tuesday, March 16th at 6:00 pm.
Let's Go Bears!
