Lady Flashes win first-ever game
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, November 5, 2003
St. Aloysius’ Lexie Doyle, left, dribbles past Brookhaven defender Rebecca Campbell in the second half of their game on Tuesday. The Lady Flashes won their first game in school history, 4-2, over the Lady Panthers. (Jon GiffinThe Vicksburg Post)
[11/5/03]As the game wore on against Brookhaven on Tuesday night, the first ticked by like miles on an odometer for St. Aloysius.
The first shot. The first save. The first goal. The first hat trick.
And then, 80 minutes after it began, the first win.
Andrea Harrison scored three goals and Lexie Doyle added another as the Lady Flashes won in the debut of the girls’ program, 4-2.
“Being short with numbers like this, you’ve got first-year players that never touched a soccer ball in their life before,” St. Al coach Karen Carroll said. “We’re all happy. I’ve got chills going down my legs.”
Looking like anything but a first-year team, St. Al controlled the flow of the game throughout and pulled away with a late flourish in the second half.
The Lady Flashes (1-0) outshot Brookhaven (2-1) 27-10 in the game, and 17-3 in the second half. Brookhaven’s only goal came midway through the first half, when Brittany Smith headed in a corner kick.
“I had three starters out, and I think they just got tired,” Brookhaven coach Kevin Bower said. “I subbed in my whole bench.”
St. Al had several scoring chances early in the second half, but Haley Davis’ shot hit the crossbar about eight minutes in and a wild scramble inside the goal box a minute later resulted in two shots but no goals.
Finally, with the score tied 1-1 about 15 minutes into the second half, Davis dribbled up the right wing and sent a cross toward Harrison in the goal box. Harrison was stopped by Brookhaven keeper Megan Tussey, but the rebound went right to Doyle, who knocked it home for the go-ahead goal.
“Andrea kicked it in and the goalie missed it, and it rebounded right to me,” Doyle said.
(B) Brookhaven 6, St. Al 2
Brookhaven exploded for five goals in the second half to blow open the game and defeat St. Al in the season opener for both teams.
Guy Orr had four goals for the Panthers and Tyler Alexander added two. Michael Head scored both goals for St. Al.
Brookhaven took a 2-1 lead just three minutes into the second half, but Head tied it a minute later with his second goal of the game.
“We completely fell apart in the second half,” St. Al coach Carlos Lee said.