Soccer title still up in air

By JED LOCKETT
Bluefield Daily Telegraph

May 15, 2008 11:17 pm

— HILLSVILLE, Va. — At 5:08 p.m. Thursday the Tazewell Bulldogs kicked off the final game of their roller-coaster regular season at Tommy Thompson Field at Carroll County High School with the opportunity to clinch the regular-season title in the Southwest District with a win. A loss made Graham the champions. A tie meant a possible playoff.
One hour and forty-eight minutes later, nothing had been settled. The game ended in a 2-2 tie and combined with Graham’s resounding 12-0 win over Richlands at the East River Soccer Complex meant the Bulldogs and G-Girls had identical district records of 7-2-1.
In other words, it threw the Southwest District title back up in the air.
“Disappointing,” said Tazewell head coach Patty Gail Cecil. “We did not play our kind of soccer. They long-balled and we did not control the ball like we normally do. And it’s very disturbing.”
“Basically I told them not to leave anything on the field,” said Carroll County head coach Wayne Edmonds. “They played their hearts out. I’m almost speechless.”
At 5:14 p.m., the Bulldogs staked their claim to the crown. Laken McReynolds crossed the ball from the left to Haylee Walker. Her tap past Carroll County keeper Megan Roper put Tazewell up 1-0.
At 5:26 p.m., the Cavaliers staked their first claim to an upset bid. Laken Hall trapped the ball against a defender then touched it past Tazewell keeper Tracy Muncy to tie the score 1-1.
“I knew the ball was going in before she kicked it because I was yelling, ‘Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!’ and then it went in,” Edmonds said. “She’s played strong all year.”
At 5:42 p.m., the G-Girls got a new lease on life courtesy of their counterparts in Hillsville. Sierra Taylor fired a high arching shot from just outside the upper-left corner of the Tazewell penalty area that went over Muncy and in the net. The Cavs led 2-1 and for seven minutes the G-Girls held the district lead.
“She’s played excellent all year long,” Edmonds said of Taylor. “That bending shot she did was absolutely beautiful.”
But at 5:49 p.m., the Bulldogs leveled the score. After scoring on a corner kick two days earlier against Graham, the Bulldogs did it again. This time it was Walker’s kick that curved into the goalmouth and went through Roper‘s hands.
“She’s a senior. She knows what she’s trying to do,” Cecil said of Walker. “She tries to feed the ball to her teammates. She really gets into the games. She’s a very physical player. She wants everybody to step it up like she tries to.”
The squads went into the half deadlocked 2-2.
At 5:59 p.m. the teams returned to the field for a second half that proved to be a struggle of wills. Quality chances were few and far between. When they did present themselves, goals stayed just out of reach.
At 6:21 p.m., the Cavaliers had a chance to retake the lead. Marcie Rosas attempted a shot on a free kick from 20 yards away. Her shot flew over the defense and Muncy. It also flew over the crossbar.
At 6:25 p.m. the Bulldogs had the chance to put away the district title once and for all. Roper made a save but could not handle the rebound. Several feet belonging to both sides were around the ball. But a Cavaliers defender got to the ball first and a chance was left wanting.
At 6:39 p.m. the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of regulation. Overtime was necessary.
At 6:45 p.m. the first overtime period began. After five scoreless minutes on the field and an additional minute for the teams to change ends, the second overtime began. Both overtime periods followed the same pattern as the second half - a struggle of wills.
At 6:49 p.m., the Bulldogs had the best scoring opportunity of the overtimes. Walker received a pass from Breanne Vencill to get a shooting opportunity from close range. But her attempt went wide. Two minutes later, the game was over.
No one was more disappointed than Tazewell.
“I think they really wanted this to be able to host next week for the tournament and maybe they took a little bit for granted that maybe Carroll County wanted to be the spoiler more than we wanted the game,” Cecil said. “I guess they did.”
No one was more pleased than Edmonds.
“Our plan was to win it,” Edmonds said. “I wasn’t thinking about East River. I wasn’t thinking about Tazewell’s shot at it. I was just thinking about this game and hopefully finishing out my season very good and we did.”
The fate of the championship will now be decided in a boardroom. The district’s athletic directors will meet this morning to decide what will happen. The Bulldogs have a pair of win over the G-Girls this season in their favor. But it may not ultimately decide the deadlock.
Carroll County (8-4-2, 5-4-1) will play Monday in the first round of the Southwest District tournament against Marion.
“Our team is healthy and we’re strong,” Edmonds said. “We’ve got a good shot at the tournament plus getting into the regions. That’s what we’re looking forward to - is the big dance.”
Tazewell (11-4-1, 7-2-1) does not know if their next game will be against Graham in a playoff or in the Southwest District tournament. Either way, Cecil will try to refocus her team.
“We just have to go to practice tomorrow and work on the things that we need to do,” Cecil said. “We have a better practice ethic and we work on using our wings and really spreading the ball across the field. And we got sucked into their game.”
— Contact Jed Lockett
at jlockett@bdtonline.com

At Tommy Thompson Field
Goals - Tazewell: Haylee Walker (6), Laken McReynolds (40); Carroll County: Laken Hall (18), Sierra Taylor (34). Assists - Tazewell: Laken McReynolds (6). Halftime - 2-2. Shots (On Goal) - Tazewell 18 (12); Carroll County 13 (5). Saves - Tazewell 3 (Tracy Muncy 3); Carroll County 10 (Megan Roper 9). Corners - Tazewell 3; Carroll County 1. Offsides - Tazewell 0; Carroll County 2. Fouls - Tazewell 10; Carroll County 9. Cards - None.