Milton, Georgia – In a game that saw the score go back and forth throughout the entire 80 minutes of play, the Cambridge Lady Bears had to settle for a tie in their regular season opener against the Roswell High School Hornets 3-3 on January 26, 2022.
The home opener started quickly with a lot of action. Junior Forward, Jordynn Dudley took possession of the ball immediately taking a shot on goal that was saved by the Roswell Goalkeeper. Only 5 minutes into the game the Lady Bears would take their fourth of 15 total corner kicks for the night. Senior Captain Ella Ciardullo made a well-placed kick to Senior Captain Kate Leibel who headed the ball toward the net. It was defended and cleared by the Hornets. The Hornets would commit a foul inside the box just three minutes later, sending Kate Leibel to the line for a penalty kick which she easily scored for the first goal of the night. Roswell would answer several minutes later after a throw in that was bounced around in front of the goal, and ultimately headed in past Senior Captain Olivia Barfield by the Lady Hornets. The score with 25:00 left in the first half was 1-1.
Midway through the first half, Jordynn Dudley took a beautiful shot but was denied the point by the Hornets' Goalkeeper. However, Dudley would not be denied, with 15 minutes left in the first half, she won the ball, used her masterful footwork to beat a midfielder and used her speed to dribble the ball past the last defender, shooting the ball quickly into the back of the net. The Lady Bears took the lead 2-1.
The lead would not hold until the half, with 3:00 minutes left in the first half, The Lady Hornets were awarded a penalty kick and the Roswell Striker sent the ball into the open right side of the net. Just before the half ended, Junior Jordynn Dudley had a fast breakaway to the goal, the Roswell goalie came out for a save that resulted in a corner kick for the Lady Bears. With only 10 seconds left on the clock, and showing amazing game awareness, Dudley quickly grabbed the ball, set it for the corner and took her shot. Time ended for the first half of play with the score 2-2.
The second half opened with shots on goal by both teams. Shots were taken by all three starting Forwards – Senior Captain Ella Ciardullo, Junior Jordynn Dudley and Sophomore Aurora Gaines. However, the score remained the same. Six minutes into the second half, Dudley used her expert footwork and ball skill to breakaway with the ball. As she quickly closed in on the goal, a Roswell defender made a play, but not before Dudley made a quick pass to Ciardullo who was able to easily score. The Lady Bears were again on top at 3-2.
Roswell came out playing a much more physical game than the first half, but the Lady Bears would meet their intensity as the match heated up. The Lady Bears defense were playing fast and protecting the goal from the Roswell forwards. A yellow card was given to a Lady Hornet after a rough hit on Sophomore Midfielder Natalie Leibel. With 23:00 minutes left in the game the Roswell Hornets took their first corner kick of the night which was headed into the net to tie the game at 3 goals a side. The Lady Bears played fast and took several shots; however the score would end there with a tie 3-3.
The Lady Bears play at Northview High School on Tuesday, February 1st at 5:30 pm.
Let's Go Bears!
