Soccer: Buford falls in round two clash with Blessed Trinity

BUFORD -- It was billed as a marquee match-up between two of the best in the state.

And the physicality, tensions and athleticism on display lived up to the hype. Too bad it was just the second round of the postseason.

But the third-ranked Blessed Trinity girls made the most of the moment, knocking off second-ranked Buford 3-1 on Wednesday in Buford.

Buford's loss was one of three for area girls teams on Wednesday -- and all were razor-thin, as Dawson County and White County also fell by one goal apiece on the road.

"We really battled, really fought and the girls gave all they had. Everybody on the team, across the board, the girls on the field, the girls on the bench put their whole heart into it," said Buford head coach Crystal Fowler. "I have been coaching most of these girls since they were in middle school and it has been a good long run with them."

Despite building a special bond over the years and honing their collective skills to an elite status the Lady Wolves (15-4) succumbed to a fierce offensive attack on behalf of Blessed Trinity (13-3-1).

At 36:36 in the first half the Titans tallied their first goal when Angela Bringmann broke away from the pack and drilled a shot into the lower-left corner of the goal, just past a sliding Lane Crawford.

Buford proved resilient, however, creating more than its share of offense and testing a talent Blessed Trinity goalkeeper for most of the first half, eventually capitalizing on a Tara Dambach corner kick headed in by Elexa Bahr at the 20-minute mark.

Both teams would enter halftime tied at 1-1.

Blessed Trinity made the most of its depth after the interval, subbing en masse to try and tire out the Lady Wolves.

Buford still created 10 shots in the second half, many narrowly missing the target, but it wasn't enough for the Lady Wolves, as Blessed Trinity put together two unanswered strikes.

The Lady Titans first goal of the second half would come off an athletic Cameron Cox corner header to the upper right 90.

Minutes later, Caroline Craine would show her speed and breakaway from the Buford defense, sending a strike by diving Buford goalkeeper Lane Crawford, and in essence determined the outcome of the round two clash.

There are no more area girls teams left alive in the soccer playoffs.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2014/5/274673