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MA soccer team drops opener By BARRY BURLESON
Editor  | Photos by Andy Burleson
Battling
Chrissy Farris (right) of Marshall battles for possession. |
An inexperienced and roster-shortened Marshall Academy soccer team started the season with a 13-0 loss to Heritage Academy. Coach Lance McGregor said he has 17 girls on the roster and 10 were in attendance for the first game Friday. “Some were out of town and I understand that, however, I’m not sure where some were,” he said. “I’m just really embarrassed from a coach’s standpoint to have to put my girls in a situation like that. “You
could really tell in the first half that the girls were discouraged and
a lot had butterflies for the better part of the first half.” MA has just six girls back from last year’s squad and only three of those returning starters. The Lady Patriots fell behind 9-0 in the first half. At the half, McGregor urged his team to slow the play down, not worry about the score and focus on getting better. “I
was actually very proud of the effort in the second half,” he said. “We
played a full 40 minutes. We were down to nine players at that point
and actually finished the game with eight due to concerns for the
safety of a couple of girls.” He said Chrissy Farris was the most valuable player of the game. “She played with every bit of effort and never gave up,” McGregor said. “She provided us with strong defensive play.” He also was very pleased with the play of Lauralee Fant, Claire Liddy, M.C. Hutchens and Reagan Elliott. He said the newcomers “improved so much from the first half to the second.”  | Taking control
(In back) MA’s Faith LaFever (left) and Bailey Blaker look to control the ball versus Heritage. |
McGregor
complimented the efforts of first-year players Danielle Stanley, Bailey
Blaker, Faith LaFever, Parker Stephenson and Reanne Stanley. He
said the most exciting play of the game for MA came when “Blaker
intercepted a pass from Heritage and made a nice pass to Hutchens, who
made a nice pass to Fant, who broke free and had a nice-looking shot
that deflected off the crossbar.” “We are finally
getting younger girls involved in the program,” McGregor said, “and
this will build a nice foundation, but like all projects, it will take
time. “Of the girls missing, four were regular starters.” The
Lady Pats hosted Magnolia Heights on Monday of this week and then
visited Bayou Tuesday. They host Bayou next Monday, Aug. 16, at 5 p.m.
and then go to Manchester next Tuesday, Aug. 17, for a 5 p.m. matchup.
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