Coweta County Soccer Association

The 93 Lady Cannons Gold were crowned Champions of the U14 Athena B Division after a 2-2 draw with 3rd place Roswell Santos Blue.

The Girls will play in the Athena A division in the Spring after finishing undefeated in the Athena B division with a record of 7 wins and 3 ties, finishing on 41 points from 10 games. 

The girls, needing a draw to finish as Champions, traveled to Roswell to play a very good Santos Blue team who needed a win to win the Championship themselves.  The day got off to a bad start when Brooke Hendrix injured herself in the warm-up.  The girls looked sluggish early on and were second to nearly every ball having gone three weeks without playing.  After relentless pressure the back four did very well against a strong and athletic Santos team, their luck changed when Santos were awarded a very dubious penalty inside 15 minutes.  Megan Gruber made a great sliding tackle and got all of the ball but as the Santos player fell down, the referee surprised everyone by blowing for a penalty kick.  Briana O'Sullivan could not prevent Santos taking the lead as the host's striker fired the penalty into the roof of the net.  A free kick from Sarah Daane and a looping shot from Leanne Bishop were as close as the girls got to scoring as the first half finished 1-0 to the home team.

The girls were not keeping possession very well and were struggling to adapt against an attacking Santos team playing with three forwards.  A change of tactics saw the girls make a bright star to the second half and the visitor’s first chance fell to Claire Machold 25 yards from goal.  Her high driven shot caught the Santos GK off guard and the ball flew into the top corner.  All their good effort in getting back into the game was wasted when a mix up in the Lady Cannons defense allowed the Santos striker to round Brianna O'Sullivan in goal and the following forward fired into the empty net.  It got worse two minutes later when after a great save from O'Sullivan the Lady Cannons failed to clear the danger and the ball was bundled home by a Santos forward.  Fortunately for the Cannons, the goal was ruled out for offside.  The game seemed to be slipping away from the Cannons until Brooke Hendrix, who was nursing an injury, came on for the last 5 minutes to add some pace to the attack.  The Lady Cannons started to show some urgency and desire as they pressured the Santos Defense and Gk into a number of fine tackles and saves.  With less than a minute to play, the Lady Cannons were awarded a free kick 35 yards from goal.  All of the Cannons players went forward as they searched for a goal that would win them the title.  Sarah Daane hit a fierce shot that the GK moved across the goal to save it but she could not keep out the ball and could only parry it into the goal.  There were joyous scenes from the players and spectators.  The girls managed to keep the home team at bay for another nerve racking minute and then the referee blew the final whistle.

The girls have made a rapid ascent up the leagues since Paul Costick took over as coach.  In the fall of 2005 they were placed in the C division where they finished 2nd to Roswell and achieved promotion to the B division.  In the spring of 2006 they finished in the middle of the pack, their highlights including beating the B Division Champions in a solid first season in the B division.  Some new player additions this season boosted the girls as they added to the quality of the team.

Well done to all of the girls (listed below), their coach Paul Costick and his assistant Lauren Costick. Leanne Bishop, Chelsea Brewer, Chelsea Dyess, Megan Gruber, Brooke Hendrix, Laura Higgusan, Claire Machold, Margeret McMichael, Marissa Medina, Kerry O'Neill, Briana O'Sullivan, Carina O'Sullivan, Emily Grey Powell, Shelby Stanfield, Kimberley Treutel