The Lady Bears Varsity Soccer team continued their unbeaten record in regional play on Tuesday night, March 22nd, when they visited the 9th-ranked Bulldogs from Forsyth Central. Despite an abridged warm up, the Lady Bears came out ready to play and controlled possession from the opening whistle. They moved the ball well, tested the Bulldog defense, but were unable to find the breakthrough through the first 20 minutes of play.
With 18 minutes left to play in the first half, the Lady Bears got their breakthrough when Charlotte Teeter played a nifty through ball that led to a foot race to the ball at the top of the 18-yard line between Julia Schukle and the Bulldog keeper. Schukle snuck in between the defensive line and the keeper, neatly tapped the ball to the side of the keeper and then calmly finished, passing the ball into the net, for the opening score. The Lady Bears notched a second goal to extend their lead to 2-0 only five minutes later when their continued pressure on the Bulldogs defense led to a Carly Shayne shot that struck the cross bar. When the ball dropped back to the ground, Julia Schukle was there once again to finish for her second goal of the match.
The second half saw a more balanced match in terms of possession but the Bulldogs really never generated a quality scoring chance that threatened the Cambridge goal. En route to the shutout, the Lady Bears defense was anchored by Nikki Hlebec, Leigh Hamblin, Kiely Gaertner, Tyra Quam and Reagan Dunwoodie (goalkeeper).
The Lady Bears go to 4-0 in region and will continue regional play when they travel to Riverwood High School (Sandy Springs) Friday, March 25 for a 5.55pm kickoff.
The Lady Bears return the following week for matches against Sequoyah High School (Monday, March 28, 5.55pm kickoff at Cambridge High School) and the regular season finale against North Atlanta that is shaping up to determine the first place team in the region (Wednesday, March 30, 5.55pm kickoff at Cambridge).
Go Bears!
