Friday, March 18, 2011

SPORTS>>Lady Lions make score that counts

By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter

Defense ruled the day at Lions Stadium on Tuesday as Searcy beat Cabot 1-0 in non-conference play.

Searcy made up for 10 shots that fell short in the first half with one perfect play at the 14-minute mark of the second when the sophomore tandem of Candace Adams and McKenna Smith came up big.

Adams found Smith on a break at midfield and passed to the right, and Smith kicked the only goal of the match into the left corner of the net and out of the reach of Cabot goalkeeper Brittany Shock.

“The sweeper played so far back, and our mid-forward wouldn’t go back and spread the field,” Searcy coach Larry Stamps said of the scoreless first half. “So finally, we got that taken care of. We were kind of surprised, because they had five forwards up top.

“Nobody does that. I’ve seen four, but not five, so that stretches you a little bit.”

Shock’s efforts for the Lady Panthers (1-2-2) kept the match close during a first half in which the Lady Lions (2-1) dominated possession while taking their 10 shots. Shock had four saves to keep the match scoreless at halftime.

“I think we were really patient,” Cabot coach Kerry Castillo said. “We didn’t rush to make hasty mistakes, swatting at the ball a whole lot.

“They had several opportunities to score even more, and our last defender, she made great plays, kept the ball in front of her, kept the players in front of her.”

Cabot’s defense cut down Searcy’s opportunities in the second half while the Lady Panthers controlled the tempo more on offense. Ally Lamb led the Cabot attack early in the half but her kick was high on a scoring attempt from the middle of the field.

Lamb and Codee Park led another charge following Searcy’s score and had a 2-on-1 break against Lady Lions goalkeeper Rosario Bocanegra. But defender Ashley Barnes stepped in to neutralize Lamb while Park and Bocanegra made hard contact while battling for possession.

Park was injured on the play and was sidelined while Bocanegra stayed in the game.

“You don’t get those chances against Searcy,” Castillo said. “And when you do happen to get them to make a bad pass in the box, you’ve got to take it, and you’ve got to convert it. We didn’t, and they did theirs.”

Adams and Smith paired up again on another break less than three minutes after Searcy’s goal, but Smith pulled the ball left and out of bounds.

“Those two work well together,” Stamps said. “I like those two, both of them are sophomores, and both of them played a lot last year. They know what the other one is going to do. I like that combination out there.”

This year marks a new era in Cabot soccer with a coaching staff change Former girls coach Danny Spencer, head football coach at Cabot North and a varsity assistant, and former boys coach Clark Bing, also a varsity football assistant, will focus on football.

Castillo takes over the girls soccer team and Steven Porter will head the boys program.

Castillo appears to have settled in, and has established a defensively strong squad in a short period.

“I’d like to see our defenders contribute more to our attack,” Castillo said. “Our defenders have been a bright spot helping us maintain possession, but today, they weren’t there. That could be attributed to Searcy’s pressure on their counter attack.

“If I could add anything to our possessions, it would be finishing the opportunities we have.”