Milton, Ga.—In a very physical and action-packed game, the Cambridge Lady Bears pounced the Alpharetta Raiders 6-3 at Cambridge on Friday, March 6, 2020.
The spectators were treated with a highly theatrical soccer production on Friday night leading to fouls all around and a couple of yellow cards. It already began 3 minutes into the game leading to a free kick by sophomore defender Katelyn Byrne. A lot of aggressive play by Alpharetta couldn't stop freshman Jordynn Dudley's first goal of the game at the 7-minute mark. But Alpharetta kept pushing through (literally) which led to their first goal being shot over the fingertips of junior goalie Abby Fields. The Raiders' celebration to tie it up didn't last long though…it took all of 17 seconds for Cambridge to score another goal, the second of the night by Jordynn Dudley putting the Lady Bears up 2-1. Cambridge was looking good with a lot of nice passing which led to Dudley's hat-trick at the 19-minute mark making the score 3-1.
The Raiders turned up the heat which ended in a yellow card for Dudley with 12 minutes left in the first half. Alpharetta made the Cambridge defense work hard with sophomore Ella Crawley clearing the ball to forward Jordynn Dudley who ran it all the way up from one end of the field to the other with the Raider goalie saving the shot. Alpharetta had two more chances in the first half with a corner kick going out behind the goal and a shot on goal saved with a diving catch by goalie Abby Fields. The Raider goalie also had her skills tested with another shot by Jordynn Dudley which was deflected giving Cambridge the corner kick. Senior forward Molly Booker took the corner which ended up in another corner leading to an Alpharetta ball being taken up the middle with a shot on goal saved by Abby Fields. With just one minute left in the half Cambridge had one last chance for another goal with a great ball sent by Dudley to junior mid-fielder Chloe Ford whose shot went just wide. Going into half time the Lady Bears were up 3-1.
Alpharetta must have gotten quite the talk during half time because they came out fierce. Two minutes in they sent a ball up which was saved by goalie Abby Fields. The Lady Bears kept possession of the ball, though and continued to hammer shots at the Alpharetta goalie. Sophomore mid-fielder Kaitlyn Leibel broke free taking the ball towards the goal with a beautiful shot just hitting the right goal post. Minutes later Jordynn Dudley took the ball up 50 yards for a shot saved by the goalie. Things really got heated when in the 54th minute Alpharetta took a corner kick which was intercepted by Dudley who then took the ball all the way up to the other goal, was grabbed and spun around by a Raider defender in an egregious foul inside the box. Some words were spoken by the referee to the players and a penalty kick awarded to Cambridge. The PK was taken by senior Molly Booker straight to the back corner of the net that the Raider keeper just watched whiz by. The Lady Bears were up 4-1.
Cambridge kept at it with a great pass from Chloe Ford who sent it up to senior Amanda Navin who passed it to Kaitlyn Leibel for the shot that barely went wide. The Raiders were starting to get desperate but organized themselves in the front where the ball bobbled around for a bit and ended up in the back of the net making the score 4-2. But in true Cambridge fashion, the Lady Bears weren't having it and a minute later Amanda Navin went 1v1 with the Keeper sending the ball right past her moving the score up 5-2.
The Raiders worked hard sending a shot in which was saved by the goal post followed by a near-own goal when Cambridge defense tried to clear it from the net. With 13 minutes left in the game a communication breakdown in the backfield by the Lady Bears led to an Alpharetta goal. Goalie Abby Fields tried to clear the ball which ended up being blocked by an Alpharetta player sending the ball straight back into the goal making the score 5-3. With 10 minutes left there was still a lot of soccer to be played. In a botched free kick by Alpharetta, the ball was taken by Molly Booker up the sideline who then crossed it to Jordynn Dudley and sent the ball to the back of the net moving the score up 6-3. In what was probably the most interesting and confusing play of the night, McCall Bennett received a yellow card for kicking the ball after the whistle was already blown. When the final whistle blew the score ended with Cambridge defeating Alpharetta 6-3.
The Lady Bears next region game at Pope on Tuesday, March 10 has been postponed to a date yet to be announced. The following region game is at home on Tuesday, March 17 against Northview at 6 p.m.
