Lady Chaps Outfox Caddo Mills
The Lady Chaps zoomed around the soccer pitch on March 21, earning their first playoff win of the season.
Aubrey claimed the Bi-District round victory against the Caddo Mills Lady Foxes 7-1, who the Lady Chaps defeated last season in the same round, demonstrating intensity and dedication throughout the game.
“We started four freshmen tonight, and they played lights out and were not scared and were not nervous,” head coach Kelli Baker said. “And that’s because our leaders, our two captains Brynnlee [Bohannon] and Macy [Childers] and the other upperclassmen played lights out, too, and so they had no reason to be scared.”
Offensively, the Lady Chaps were almost unstoppable.
About 10 minutes into the game, Childers connected with Daniella Dominic-Etuk, who was wide open to launch the ball past Caddo Mills goalie Jaxon Berryhill’s outstretched hand.
A few minutes later, Bohannon slipped the ball past the defense to Childers, who sailed the ball into the net.
When the Lady Chaps retook the field after the half, they kicked back into scoring mode.
Childers again assisted Dominic-Etuk, who sunk the ball deep in the corner.
About two minutes later, Bohannon swiped the ball from the Lady Foxes, moving the ball down the field but was fouled from behind in the box by midfielder/defender Karson Hargrave.
Bohannon, awarded the penalty kick, rose to her feet with Childers and Andrea Anez by her side and centered herself in front of the goal with Berryhill bracing for the shot.
Bohannon fired the penalty kick solidly into the corner of the goal.
About three minutes later, Dominic-Etuk, assisted by Bohannon, earned a hat trick, adding Aubrey’s fifth goal to the board.
With about 26 minutes left in the game, Childers connected with Anez, her first goal of the season and Aubrey’s sixth for the night.
The Lady Chaps’ final goal of the game came with Bohannon assisting Childers, who sent the ball flying past Berryhill.
Childers was proud that the team kept up the energy and continued to communicate from start to finish.
“The girls knew that even though we were winning, we could not take the foot off the gas because one mistake could have cost the game,” Childers said.
Her fellow captain, Bohannon, expressed gratitude, too, for their teammates, including the underclassmen who gained meaningful playoff experience.
“We trust one another, especially if it’s coming from [the] keeper because she sees the whole field, and it definitely helps our communication and movement and our chemistry together,” she said.
Lady Chaps goalie Lexis Jones not only notched 13 saves, but she also made a diving stop on the one penalty kick the Lady Foxes were awarded.
Jones had support, too, from the Lady Chaps back line, which made some pivotal plays to counter the Lady Foxes’ attempts to score.
Although Jones allowed one goal in the second half, her coach said the game was “probably the best that she’s played all year.”
“She was communicating with the back line, and two of those freshmen and two of those sophomores were starting in the defense, and so our defense was very, very young,” Baker said. “She’s the junior that was the rock that kind of held them all together.”
Although Jones was critical of herself for not earning a shutout, she was overall proud of the way she and the team worked together.
On Tuesday, Aubrey faced LIFE Oak Cliff in the area round of the playoffs and earned a 5-0 win. The Lady Chaps are set to face Athens in the Regional Semi-Finals round at 6 p.m. Friday at Better Life Stadium in Forney.
