Published: May 11, 2008 11:31 pm            

Tazewell-Graham rematch eagerly awaited

TAZEWELL, Va. — Asking is a waste of time. The girls soccer teams at Graham and Tazewell High Schools know exactly what is on the line for their game today at Lincolnshire Park.

The G-Girls (9-2-1, 6-1-1) lead the Bulldogs (10-4, 6-2) by a minuscule margin in the Southwest District. If Graham wins, the regular-season title is theirs. If Tazewell wins, they will be a win over Carroll County away from claiming the district championship.

No pressure.

“I think everybody’s pretty excited,” said Graham forward Kelli Landreth, who scored two goals in the G-Girls’ 4-1 win over Abingdon last Thursday. “Last time we were kind of timid. But this time I think we’re very ready and I think that we’re going to do it.”

“We’re pretty confident because we shut them down last time,” said Tazewell goalkeeper Tracy Muncy. “We’re hoping for a shutout this time.”

“We’re pretty confident in every area of our team,” added Tazewell midfielder Heather Wells.

“We’re ready,” said Graham forward Beth Mercke. “We’re not going to be nervous anymore. We’re ready for them.”

Graham only has one district defeat this season, but that loss was to Tazewell on April 17 at the East River Soccer Complex. In that game the G-Girls outshot their counterparts 16-10, putting eight of those attempts on frame to the Bulldogs’ seven.

Graham also controlled the flow of the game. But the stiff Bulldogs defense combined with goals by Abbey Kitts and Cara Cecil made the difference.

The clash between Graham’s offense and Tazewell’s defense will likely be decisive in the rematch as well.

“We’re looking for that,” said Graham head coach Roger Mercke. “The last game we played against them, we shot too many from outside the box. We’re not going to take any outside the box. We’re going to get closer this time and make the goalie work a little harder.”

“I think our defense has shown that they’re ready for every game,” said Tazewell head coach Patty Gail Cecil. “We’ve had some real good matches. Tracy’s had quite a few shutouts and the defense is key. The defense is where our offense starts.”

Muncy played a key role in the first game between the teams, making eight saves and handling the ball 22 times. She also had 12 saves and 31 handles in the Bulldogs’ 3-0 home win over Abingdon a week later.

“Hat’s off to her. She’s come a long way and I’m sure she’s gotten better,” Roger Mercke said. “But we’ve got to take better quality shots against them and hopefully we can do that.”

“She stopped a lot of really good goals the last time we played her,” Beth Mercke said. “But I don’t think we were really ready to play them the first time. I think we’re ready now.”

Muncy is ready for the G-Girls saying, “We’re hoping for the same (as last time) and more.”

“I’m really proud of how well she has taken over and she’s doing a better job of directing her defense,” Patty Gail Cecil noted.

Keying the Bulldogs’ back line is sophomore Molly Thompson. In the first contest she repeatedly won loose balls from Graham attackers and swept them out of danger.

“They have good defenders,” Landreth said. “Molly Thompson, she is the fastest girl, I swear. And we’re just going to have to do our best and play together as a team ’cause if we pass and play together as a team we can do it.”

The field at Lincolnshire is smaller in both length and width than the field at East River. Against Abingdon, the Bulldogs were able to use their home-field advantage to quickly transition from defense to offense — a key to their victory.

Both coaches downplayed this as a determining factor.

“It depends on how well the teams stay spread out and pass and do the things that make them effective team players,” Patty Gail Cecil said. “It’s all about being a team and using your team members and not trying to just take a breakaway and make a score.”

“May help us, may hurt us. Who knows,” Roger Mercke said. “They’ve got home-field advantage, we’ll see what happens.”

What Tazewell will not have is Kitts’ services. She went down to a foot injury in the Bulldogs’ loss to Carroll County. But Tazewell rebounded in their next game, the win over Abingdon.

Wells did not downplay the role her offense played in the first matchup. Kitts or no Kitts, she thinks Graham should be concerned.

“Our defense shut them down last time and it was our offense that was scoring goals against their defense,” Wells said. “So they should be worried about our offense.”

Beth Mercke is not worried.

“I think if we can keep to our game plan and control the ball like we know that we can then I think we’ll do perfect,” she said.

Preparation time is over. Game day is here. One team can win a title. The other can stake their claim to it.

“If I can get my girls mentally prepared for it, I think this game (against Abingdon) really helped get them up,” Roger Mercke said. “It’s going to be a mind game also come Monday. So we need to be ready mentally as well as physically.”

“It’s another win, but it’s the Southwest District,” Patty Gail Cecil said. “And since I’ve got six seniors, I think that they are expecting that. They want to win. They want to continue. They want to be able to host and play on our home field one more time.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

— Contact Jed Lockett

at jlockett@bdtonline.com

        

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