New Hope edges Caledonia in season opener
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 12:05 PM CST
Senior left-forward Spencer Long connected on a shot from the top of the penalty area in the 56th minute to break a scoreless tie and lift the New Hope Trojans past the Caledonia Confederates 1-0 in the season opener for both teams Tuesday.
“I thought we played pretty good tonight for our opener,” said New Hope coach Jamie Perkins. “We were a little rusty in the first half and offensively at times, but our defensive play kept us in there and did a good job.”
Leading the New Hope defense was the play of senior goalkeeper Blake Ridgeley, who posted eight saves, including a pair of spectacular plays late to prevent a potential tying goal.
“Blake did an exceptional job back there,” said Perkins. “He made some great saves and did a good job punting past midfield and clearing.”
New Hope needed Ridgeley’s performance as it was out-shot 11-6, including 8-3 on goal. Caledonia also held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
“I was very happy with the aggressive play of our boys tonight,” said Caledonia coach Jason Forrester. “I believe we did a good job finishing the game, we just need to learn how to finish a shot. We had several opportunities to tie it and go ahead.”
After taking the 1-0 lead, New Hope avoided several Caledonia chances through the last half of the second half. Caledonia missed a golden opportunity to tie it in the 74th minute when a Corey Hayes shot on goal from within the penalty box was denied by Ridgeley.
Girls
- New Hope 2 Caledonia 2: New Hope picked it spots well as two of the three Lady Trojans’ shots were goals to lead to a tie against Caledonia.
Out-shot 11-3, New Hope took a 1-0 halftime lead behind a goal from senior forward Emily Allen.
Caledonia responded with a pair of goals getting the first on a header from senior left-forward Savannah Rushing and the second off the foot of sophomore Jessee Mims.
Kristen Sedberry, meanwhile, chipped in with an assist and posted a team-high seven shots on goal.
“I thought we dominated the possession for the most part but didn’t do enough with the ball,” said Forrester. “We should have taken better advantage of chances. We had a great individual performance from Savannah and Jessee, but we have to close out these games.”
New Hope got the equalizer from sophomore forward Aleni Bryant in the final minutes to force overtime.
New Hope returns to action Saturday at the Columbus Classic against Amory at 8:30 a.m. Caledonia, meanwhile, travels to South Pontotoc on Friday night before hosting Saltillo on Saturday.
