Flyers’ Kenzie Cox and Tigers’ Sierra Imlay converge on the ball in action Thursday night at Walt Brooks Stadium. (photo/Todd Ellis)
Dixie Flyers’ keeper Kelsey McCann focuses on the play between the Tigers and Flyers Thursday night. (photo/Todd Ellis)
The Flyers beat visiting Hurricane 1-0 on Thursday night at Walt Brooks Stadium, continuing their sizzling start to the season by winning their sixth straight match.
Hurricane gave the Flyers (2-0 region, 6-0 overall) all they could handle in the tight contest and no ball found passage beyond a keeper until in the 47th minute when Dixie’s Kenzie Cox secured a through-ball delivered from teammate Britton Leavitt.
Leavitt passed a ball ahead to Cox who was setting up near the 10-yard line. Cox had a Tiger defender on her hip when the ball came to her. She took the ball off her knee, dropped it to the grass, hit the skids, allowed the defender to run by, just enough to open some space, and attacked the box with a hard kick that went left of Hurricane’s goalie. The senior mid-fielder had to overcome an offset situation in earning the goal.
“I just had to get in front of the defender,” Cox said about her fourth goal of the season. “The ball bounced off my knee, and I knew to keep it low and let her go past. I kicked it with my right foot.
“I am left-footed. It was a challenge for sure.”
The two teams went back and forth throughout the scoreless first half with both goalkeepers not giving an inch.
Dixie coach Burt Myers told his team at halftime to ratchet up the effort. Seven minutes into the second half, Cox, from Leavitt, delivered on Myers’ request.
“When we were touching the ball, we were touching way light, too soft,” Myers said of the Flyers’ first half. “We weren’t making crisp clean passes with pace on them.”
Cox made sure to put her full leg into the kick.
“Kenzie is just an all-star player,” Myers said. “We missed a one-on-one twice, earlier, so when she received the great pass from Britton, she settled it and sent it in.”
Kelsey McCann was huge in the net for the Flyers. The freshman keeper said she likes how the Flyers are feeling.
“This team has great chemistry, off the field and on the field,” McCann said. “I think we are going to have a great season.”
The 6-0 Flyers’ start is the most wins in a row starting a season since 2001 when the Flyers won their first seven games.
Hurricane is 0-2 in region and 3-2 overall.
E-mail: develon.isom@kcsg.com
Twitter: DevelonIsom-KCSG
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