Milton, Georgia – The Cambridge Lady Bears won 4-1 in the first round of the Georgia State Playoffs, against the Kennesaw Mountain High School Mustangs, on Thursday, April 22, 2021.
Thursday night's game was the first time the Lady Bears would see the playoff field since 2016. With the number 2 seed in the region, and the talent on the field to prove it, Cambridge came ready to play. The game got started quickly, but not the way Cambridge intended, when just 5 minutes into the game, a free kick was awarded to the Mustangs; Junior Olivia Barfield seemed to have it saved, but the ball got loose and rolled into the net. The Bears went down 0-1.
After the first goal, most of the offensive play happened around the Mustang's net. The Lady Bears executed disciplined passing and fast play. With 15 minutes left in the first half, Sophomore Gaby Sanchez made a well-timed pass to Sophomore Jordynn Dudley who broke away from the defense and worked her way to the goal with a strong shot that would not be denied, Dudley put the Bears on the scoreboard 1-1. A little over three minutes later, Junior Ella Ciardullo took a shot on goal that was denied; on the rebound, Senior Kyndall Jenkins took a shot on net that hit the post and when it bounced back, Freshman, Natalie Leibel headed it into the net to put the Lady Bears on top 2-1.
Play started to get more and more physical toward the end of the first half. With a little less than 10 minutes to play, Sophomore Jordynn Dudley received the ball and used her expert footwork to get around several Mustangs and put the ball into the net. The Lady Bears would go into halftime up 3-1.
The second half of play became even more physical. In all the Bears would take 13 free kicks on the night and the Mustangs would take 16. The defense played a spectacular game with only five shots being taken on Junior Goalie Olivia Barfield for the night.
Ten minutes into the second half, Sophomore Gaby Sanchez got her foot on the ball during a scuffle between players around the net and dropped it in behind the goalie for the final score of the night. The Lady Bears won the first round of the playoffs with a score of 4-1.
The Lady Bears move on to the Sweet 16 in the Georgia State Playoff tournament on Wednesday, April 28th when they will travel to Dalton High School. Kickoff is at 6:00 pm.
Let's Go Bears!
