Eagles settle for 1-1 draw
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on March 4, 2011 1:48 PM
Sometimes a young team has to learn a hard lesson in order to improve.
The Rosewood Eagles soccer team had such a moment on Thursday night.
Midway scored the game-tying goal in the 78th minute and earned a 1-1 draw despite being outplayed for much of the game at Branch Pope Field.
"You could tell we got a little tired in the last 20 minutes and we weren't able to finish the game," said first-year Rosewood head coach Ryan Wells. "This was our third game this week and we lost our legs a little bit."
The Eagles controlled first-half possession behind strong midfield play.
Cory Smith got the Eagles on the scoreboard in the 31st minute when she collected a loose ball in front of the net and hammered a shot past the Raiders' keeper. The play was set up by a corner kick by Logan Bill.
"We did a lot of good things tonight, we ran our system well, we just need to make a few adjustments," said Wells. "Midway played well and they were a lot deeper than us, which showed in the second half."
The Raiders began to control possession midway through the second half and carried most of the action over the final 15 minutes. The effort came to a head in the 78th minute when Farrah Jackson broke loose from a pack of players in front of the Eagles' net and chipped a shot in.
Midway outshot Rosewood, 9-7, with three of those attempts coming in the last 10 minutes of the game.
"We will learn from tonight and continue to get better," said Wells. "I think this team looks good right now. We had two tough games against good opponents in C.B. Aycock and Southern Wayne this week. Tonight we earned a tie, which is all right."
Rosewood keeper Rionna Allen stopped eight shots in the draw.
The Eagles (0-2-1 overall) travel to Corinth-Holders on Monday.