Sandite soccer splits with Booker T: girls win 2-0, boys fall 4-1
/Story and photo by: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director
It has been a troubling year so far for the Charles Page High School Varsity Boys soccer team, who came into Tuesday night's game with a record of just 1-4. The Booker T. Washington Varsity Boys came into the first game of district play with a much better record of 3-0 and looked very formidable coming in.
The Hornets got off to a hot start with Senior captains Zach Canady and Joseph Cuellar each scoring a goal to put their squad up 2-0. The visiting team's defense stifled the Sandite offense for nearly the entirety of the first half, until Senior forward Cody Gurley corralled a loose ball and fired a shot that squeaked by Hornet keeper Zac Haney. The Sandite goal came in the 39th minute and cut the lead in half going into the break.
The second half would see a more aggressive Sandite offense, as they made far more trips into the box. Sand Springs nearly evened the game in the 50th minute when a left footed strike hit the right post and shot out of bounds. That would be as close as they would get though as Max Pettett, a sophomore midfielder, netted a header in the 63rd minute and Cuellar scored his second goal of the match on a penalty in the 66th to seal things for Booker T.
The loss puts the Sandites at 1-5 (0-1) on the year and the Hornets continue their undefeated start at 4-0 (1-0). Charles Page will play next April 1-2 at the Edison Tournament.
The Charles Page and Booker T Washington girls soccer teams both entered the district opener with records well over .500 for the year. The Lady Hornets carried an undefeated record of 4-0 with them into Memorial Stadium to face the Lady Sandites who boasted a record of 4-1 on the season. The lone Sand Springs loss came at the hands of Metro Christian Academy by a score of 1-0, but Bobby Behrens's girls have gotten back on track beating Enid 5-0 and Bixby 2-1.
Sand Springs took a major hit offensively coming in, as Senior captain and leading goal scorer Kayla Foster was unable to play due to injury. Foster has scored 7 goals in the first 5 games, including a pair of hat tricks.
The Lady Hornets made a strong run at goal in the opening minute as Freshman forward Lauren Cousins played a ball in to fellow freshman midfielder McKenna Raley who took a shot that went just wide to the right of the goal. That would prove to be the only shot of the half for Booker T. as the two teams would simply trade possession for the remainder of the half. The Lady Sandites managed one shot midway through the opening 40 minutes, and it came on a Brooklyn Eardley free kick that sailed well over the top of the goal.
Both teams seemed to really pick up the pace in the second half as they traded shots for the first 20 minutes with Sandite keeper Abigail Banks making a key stop on a shot by Cousins. Sand Springs finally found pay dirt in the 64th minute when Eardley collected a loose ball on the left sideline, cut past her defender towards goal, took a couple of touches and stroked a shot inside post past the keeper. Kyndal Zicker got in on the fun as the junior contributed with her 5th goal of the season coming in the 76th minute. The Lady Hornets refused to give up though, as Cousins and the offense continued to press forward and get off shots, but Banks and the Sandite back line stood strong and completed the shutout. It was Banks's fourth clean sheet of the year and the girls's third straight victory.
The victory moves the Sandite girls to 5-1 (1-0) and the Lady Hornets fall to 4-1 (0-1). Sand Springs will play this weekend, April 1-2 at the Edison tournament.
