Despite McCallie late rally to tie, HVA soccer starts 3-0-1
Only about two minutes from a 4-0 start, Hardin Valley Academy’s somewhat disappointing 1-1 boys soccer tie against Division II Chattanooga McCallie at HVA Friday evening, March 26, left Hawks head coach Jessica Stephens talking about two different halves of success.
“I thought we came out pretty strong the first half. I kind of felt we had a gameplan in place,” Stephens said. “We were moving the ball a little better and had some (extended) possessions and created some opportunities.”
In the 28th minute, the Hawks capitalized on an opportunity when junior midfielder Rudy Dardon maneuvered his way through the middle of the Blue Tornado midfield and defense, knocking home the go-ahead goal from about 20 yards out.
“Rudy’s just a workhorse, man, he’s big, he’s strong, he’s powerful,” Stephens said. “... He’s very talented, very calm on the ball. He sees the field well. ... It was a beautiful goal.
“I though our back line stood strong most of the game ... they had a tall order with (McCallie’s) front line coming at them,” she added.
Junior Gavin McCormick, a center-midfielder and center-forward, “definitely stepped up and applied some pressure there,” Stephens said. “And we had some freshmen step in and make some really big plays.”
However, “In the second half, they kind of took it to us a little bit,” the coach said, as McCallie stood at 1-1-1 after the tie. “They came out with a little more intensity and were able to keep the ball and got us chasing some.
“But we were able to get a couple of counters on them and be dangerous,” she added.
