John Bruce, Staff Writer
MINFORD — After a late-night change of venue, Lynchburg-Clay jumped on a bus for an early morning start at Minford on Saturday.
Due to the soggy conditions of the week, the Mustangs’ home field was deemed to be unplayable, but the programs were able to still get together to make Saturday’s opener a high-quality meeting.
Even with the season just starting, both teams had to play a little shorthanded due to injury. However, the play on the pitch would not show any doubt that these are still two of the top programs in the Southeast District as the pair played to a 2-2 draw.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
Following a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes early, it didn’t take the Mustangs (0-0-1) long to knock off any road rust as Everleigh Barry sent a perfect through ball between the defense. Lily Ferguson outpaced her defender and earned the first touch on the pass before slotting the ball into the back of the net at the 21:43 mark of the first half to grab an early 1-0 advantage.
The Falcons (0-0-1) appeared to find their footing following the Ferguson finish. Minford began to gain more possession of the ball to start its attack. However, that forward push did leave the Falcons’ defense susceptible to a counter-attack, which the Mustangs played to perfection to expand their lead.
After a shot on the break clanged off of the near post, the ball rolled right to the feet of Ferguson, who slotted the loose ball into the netting to give Lynchburg-Clay a 2-0 lead with 11:02 remaining in the first half.
The Falcons could have rolled over after Ferguson’s second score, especially after building some momentum before the quick turnaround. But, that wouldn’t be the Minford way.
Marley Rhodes answered with a brilliant strike from 25 yards out that banked in off the post to cut the Mustangs’ lead in half with 6:41 to play in the half.
Lynchburg-Clay was able to get into the break with the 2-1 lead and the Mustangs held it throughout the majority of the second 40-miute stanza with a stingy defensive effort led by Addie Cordrey.
PHOTOS: Images from Lynchburg-Clay and Minford’s season-opening draw
Cordrey and company kept the Falcons at bay, denying any good looks until 9:55 remaining in the game, when Minford’s McKenna Enz received a pass near the top of the box before turning and finishing inside the far post to tie the match at 2-2.
Each team pushed forward looking for the game winner, but physical defense kept the teams even going into the final whistle. From the outside, the teams appeared to be even throughout the contest, so the draw felt like a fair result for both squads.
“It’s that mentality of never quit’ and having Lynchburg-Clay as our opener every year is a brutal opener every year,” Minford coach Shane Tieman said. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way. We battled and I felt like we were getting stronger as the game went. I was pleased with our effort today, especially that last 40 minutes.”
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