Milton, Georgia – In a highly energetic Friday night game, the Cambridge Lady Bears shut out the Milton High School Eagles, 6-0, on Friday, February 11, 2022.
It was no surprise that this rivalry game was well-attended. As the stands mixed with Cambridge blue and Milton red, the game got started. Cambridge came out right away with quick ball movement and a few early shots on goal. Freshman Midfielder Maddie Ward took a chance with a quick shot, as did Junior Forward Jordynn Dudley. Five minutes into play, a Milton Defender made a fatal mistake and passed the ball directly to the feet of Dudley who turned with the ball and took a shot directly into the back of the net to put the game up 1-0 early. Three minutes later, Sophomore Natalie Leibel made a beautiful pass at midfield to Dudley. Dudley immediately turned and used her intense speed to play the ball around the defenders and shoot the ball away from the Goalie into the corner. With 32 minutes left in the first half, this game was already all Bears at 2-0.
The Eagles would try to get on the board a minute later with a free kick that took an awkward bounce and was tipped back by Senior Captain Goalkeeper Olivia Barfield. The play resulted in a corner kick for Milton which was also saved by Barfield.
The remainder of the first half was marked with great teamwork by the Lady Bears. With 28 minutes left in the half, Senior Captain Ella Ciardullo placed a perfect corner kick in front of the goal, but it was defended by the Eagles and resulted in a second corner kick for the Bears. Sophomore Natalie Leibel placed the kick in front of Junior Jordynn Dudley who attempted the header into the net but did not make it.
With 14 minutes left in the first half, the score was still 2-0 but the Lady Bears kept the pressure on the Milton Goalkeeper. Junior Forward Jordynn Dudley was tripped, and the Lady Bears were awarded a Free Kick. The shot was directly on frame, but the Milton Goalkeeper made a running basket catch to make the save. Two minutes later, Junior Forward Katelyn Hardwick did some quick footwork with the ball and made a good pass to Senior Ella Ciardullo. Ciardullo used her, expertise with the ball to get around a defender and made a sharp, blind pass back to Hardwick who took the deep shot across the goal and was just off frame at the corner. Five minutes later, Ciardullo would have the ball again and pair her incredible speed with her footwork and take a really hard shot that was deflected by the Goalie giving the Lady Bears another corner kick opportunity. Three minutes after that, Dudley was tripped, and Ella Ciardullo lined up to take the free kick. With a strange angle and distance on the ball's placement, Ciardullo was unable to convert this one to a goal.
But the Bears did not stop shooting. As the clock ticked off the last two minutes of the half, Junior Katelyn Hardwick was able to cross the ball in front of the net to Ciardullo who could not get her foot on the ball cleanly for the score. With seconds left on the clock, Ciardullo would take a free kick from a position near the corner. Katelyn Hardwick got her head on the ball, but it dropped short, and Jordynn Dudley crashed the net and shot the loose ball into the back before the Milton Goalie could stop her from gaining a hat trick on the night. The buzzer signaled the end of the half, and the Lady Bears went into halftime comfortably with a score of 3-0.
When the second half started, the Milton Eagles had a new Goalkeeper playing in net for them. The Lady Bears were not intimidated. Within the first minute, Freshman Maddie Ward made a quick pass outside to Sophomore Natalie Leibel who took a strong shot past the new Goalie and into the net. The Bears started the second half quickly bringing the score to 4-0. Ten minutes later, Freshman Chandler Browning got the ball to Jordynn Dudley who took the ball up an open field to score her 4th goal of the night and bringing the scoreboard to 5-0 for the Bears against their rivals.
The excitement did not end until the very end of the game. Senior Forward McCall Bennett scored her first Varsity goal with just under 4 minutes left to play. Sophomore Midfielder Ella Gehrig would make a quick pass to Bennett who turned with the ball and took a strong shot into the back of the net. Bennett's exciting goal would be the final goal of the night as the Lady Bears took the win in this crosstown rivalry with a final score of 6-0.
The Lady Bears will host Denmark High School on Tuesday, February 15th at 6:00 pm.
Let's Go Bears!