Conor O’Neill—BURLINGTON TIMES-NEWS
Posted Apr. 27, 2016 at 12:03 AM
Having watched her team surrender three first-half goals, Burlington Christian Academy girls’ soccer coach Katie Meads turned up the volume “100 percent” for her halftime speech.
There was an immediately positive response from the Royals. It just wasn’t sustained.
“Yeah, we should’ve kept it going. I don’t know what happened,” said BCA’s Camille Abbott following the Royals’ 4-2 loss to visiting Caldwell Academy on Tuesday at Springwood Park.
The result was the first loss in Triad Athletic Conference play for the Royals (12-2-2 overall, 10-1 league), and brings about a three-way tie with Caldwell Academy (10-7, 10-1) and Calvary Baptist, which BCA beat 6-2 on Monday.
A sluggish first half in which Hailey Belk and Katie Butler scored early, and then the deficit became 3-0 when Caldwell Academy’s Kenzie Rennie lined a shot into the top right corner of the goal.
“I think at some points we did (get down on ourselves), but our team is really good at lifting each other up,” Abbott said. “We have good relationships with each other where, if one of us gets down, there’s 10 others on the field that can help each other.”
That aspect was most evident in the first 10 minutes of the second half, when BCA put four shots on goal. Two of those found the net, with Mackenzie Turner scoring on a feed from Jessica Capes and Abbott scoring an unassisted tally.
A defensive shift by the Eagles — moving midfielder Gracyn Smith back to the defensive side — and fatigue on the Royals’ end meant there weren’t many chances for a game-tying goal. Belk scored the game’s final goal on a deflection in the last minute.
“They were marking us a lot tighter and they were locking in on their defense. They moved one of their really strong midfielders back on defense and so that really effected us,” Meads said.
In taking stock of the result, and dealing with the reality that an undefeated conference run was wiped out, Abbott and Meads were both ready to carry the loss as a positive.
“It’s tough, but I think this was a reality check for us. I think it’s going to help us as we go into the (postseason),” Abbott said.
“We are not invincible by any stretch,” Meads said. “So I think it’s good for them to have a sobering loss, to know that the possibility is there and that we’ve got to give 110 percent at all times, even when we’re tired, even when we’re worn out, even when we’re hot, we’ve got to keep going.”
BCA’s last scheduled game is Friday, although a makeup date against The Burlington School is still to be determined. Caldwell Academy and Calvary Baptist play Friday.
Posted Apr. 27, 2016 at 12:03 AM
Having watched her team surrender three first-half goals, Burlington Christian Academy girls’ soccer coach Katie Meads turned up the volume “100 percent” for her halftime speech.
There was an immediately positive response from the Royals. It just wasn’t sustained.
“Yeah, we should’ve kept it going. I don’t know what happened,” said BCA’s Camille Abbott following the Royals’ 4-2 loss to visiting Caldwell Academy on Tuesday at Springwood Park.
The result was the first loss in Triad Athletic Conference play for the Royals (12-2-2 overall, 10-1 league), and brings about a three-way tie with Caldwell Academy (10-7, 10-1) and Calvary Baptist, which BCA beat 6-2 on Monday.
A sluggish first half in which Hailey Belk and Katie Butler scored early, and then the deficit became 3-0 when Caldwell Academy’s Kenzie Rennie lined a shot into the top right corner of the goal.
“I think at some points we did (get down on ourselves), but our team is really good at lifting each other up,” Abbott said. “We have good relationships with each other where, if one of us gets down, there’s 10 others on the field that can help each other.”
That aspect was most evident in the first 10 minutes of the second half, when BCA put four shots on goal. Two of those found the net, with Mackenzie Turner scoring on a feed from Jessica Capes and Abbott scoring an unassisted tally.
A defensive shift by the Eagles — moving midfielder Gracyn Smith back to the defensive side — and fatigue on the Royals’ end meant there weren’t many chances for a game-tying goal. Belk scored the game’s final goal on a deflection in the last minute.
“They were marking us a lot tighter and they were locking in on their defense. They moved one of their really strong midfielders back on defense and so that really effected us,” Meads said.
In taking stock of the result, and dealing with the reality that an undefeated conference run was wiped out, Abbott and Meads were both ready to carry the loss as a positive.
“It’s tough, but I think this was a reality check for us. I think it’s going to help us as we go into the (postseason),” Abbott said.
“We are not invincible by any stretch,” Meads said. “So I think it’s good for them to have a sobering loss, to know that the possibility is there and that we’ve got to give 110 percent at all times, even when we’re tired, even when we’re worn out, even when we’re hot, we’ve got to keep going.”
BCA’s last scheduled game is Friday, although a makeup date against The Burlington School is still to be determined. Caldwell Academy and Calvary Baptist play Friday.
