A 1-0 loss was displayed on the scoreboard, but South Summit girls soccer coach Clayton Alexander was mostly pleased with what he saw from his team against Union on Thursday evening.
A red card late in the first half meant that the Wildcats had to play the entire second half down a player, but South Summit didn’t concede a single goal in the period. The extra player on the field for Union held the Wildcats back in the second half — especially offensively — but Alexander liked the fight that his team showed by blanking the Cougars in final 40 minutes.
“I’m really happy with the way that team played in the second half,” Alexander said. “I think they made good changes from what we talked about at halftime and the amount of intensity and effort we were putting forth with a player down for that entire second half — very happy with the way that we looked.”
A somewhat uneventful first half concluded with a play that ultimately changed the game. Still scoreless, Union looked like it was about to have a breakaway through the middle of South Summit’s defense before defender Sydney Crnich pulled down the attacker before the play could develop any further. Crnich was originally just shown a yellow card, but after some deliberation among the referees, she was sent off with a red card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
To make matters worse for South Summit, Union midfielder Bailee Thompson scored off the ensuing free kick, meaning that Crnich’s tackle ultimately didn’t save a goal for the Wildcats while setting them back a player. Union took its 1-0 lead into halftime.
Union took advantage of South Summit only having 10 players on the field by using the extra space on the field and controlling the game. Freshman goalkeeper Belle Jones kept the Wildcats in the game with several vital saves, like breaking up a breakaway by leaving the 18-yard box and executing a perfect slide tackle.
“(She’s) just extremely talented, extremely athletic and just knows the role,” Alexander said. “The fact that she’s a freshman playing the way that she’s playing means that we have got a lot of good opportunities ahead. A little bit of room for improvement, but definitely helped us stay in the game.”
Still trailing by a goal, South Summit started to play more aggressively to find a game-tying goal, and its best opportunity came with just under three minutes left in the game. The Wildcats drew a free kick from inside the Union 18-yard box after a Union defender played the ball while on the ground. However, the free kick was easily defended by the Cougars, and South Summit couldn’t mount another attack before time ran out.
“Whether or not that should be an indirect kick or not, I don’t agree with it because I actually think it should have been a penalty, but it is what it is,” Alexander said. “I thought we had a good look from it, but (it) definitely gives us another scenario to practice.”
South Summit sits at a 2-3 record after Thursday’s loss, and the Wildcats will have two more non-region games before their region opener against Morgan on Sept. 7. Alexander has learned more about what has worked for his team and what hasn’t and is optimistic about his team’s season.
“I’m really excited about the skill level of the players and what they’re showing up with from a hard work and enthusiasm standpoint,” Alexander said. “And again, this game today showed us what kind of depth our players have, whether they’re starting or coming in as subs. Being able to hold a team off the way we did with a player down, seeing a lot of good things.”