The Fort Campbell High School Lady Falcons nearly swooped a victory from the Trigg County Lady Wildcats during the Sept. 27 home game, but had to settle for a 1-1 tie.

After skirmishing for the ball midfield in the first half, the Lady Falcons bounded down the field and went up for their first attempt at the Lady Wildcats’ goal. However, their inaccurate aim kept them from adding points to the scoreboard.

Moments later, Jasmine Ward, FCHS senior and team co-captain, squared up with the goal for the team’s next attempt at scoring. Ward’s kick from the right corner was blocked by a Lady Wildcat. The ball rolled to the 50-yard line.

In the first half of the game, the Lady Falcons attempted to score about 10 times. Of those attempts, only one was successful.

With six minutes left in the first half, Kaitlyn Cervantes, FCHS junior, scored the first and only goal of the game for the Lady Falcons.

“It was kind of a fight or flight moment,” Cervantes said.

Kylie Gamblin, FCHS junior, assisted with the goal.

“[Gamblin] was near the 30-yard line and she popped it over when the goalie was up. I was right next to the goalie and then I headed it into the goal,” Cervantes said.

This was her first time scoring a goal by heading the ball into the net. Cervantes learned how to head the ball during team practice.

Near the end of the first half, the Lady Wildcats took control over the ball and pushed it toward the Lady Falcons’ goal, infiltrating their defensive line. After a few attempts at the goal, the Lady Falcons regained their composure and reclaimed the ball.

The Lady Falcons began the second half strong, eager to keep their lead. As the minutes ticked down on the clock though, the Lady Falcons became exhausted. The small team has competed this season with two substitutes.

This season, the team would have benefited from having a deeper bench, said Hannah Salas, FCHS senior and team co-captain.

“I wish we had more people on the team. Then we could have rested some of our players and rotated people out, but that didn’t happen and that’s OK too. We work with what we’ve got,” Salas said.

This season, the Lady Falcons lost six teammates to moves and injuries.

With two minutes left in the game, the Lady Wildcats stampeded into Lady Falcons territory and sent the ball sailing into the goal.

Now, both teams were on the board.

With each passing second, the Lady Falcons and Lady Wildcats battled over the ball, desperate to gain control and score another point. However, the game ended with both teams hovering midfield, still fighting over the ball.

The Lady Falcons and Lady Wildcats are equally matched, especially when it comes to competitiveness, skills and strategy, Cervantes said.

“We were expecting a win, but the tie happened at the last minute and it’s OK. It happens sometimes,” she said.

Still learning

Despite this being the Lady Falcons’ penultimate game of the regular season, Michelle Ellis, Lady Falcons’ head coach, said the student-athletes are continuing to learn. During the first half of the season, the Lady Falcons scored an average of three goals per game. The team celebrated a three-game winning streak in August. However, from the past six games, the Lady Falcons have only scored six goals collectively. They suffered a six-game slump in September.

To combat the losing streak, Ellis changed up the girls’ positions on the field.

“At the beginning of the season we were doing quite well, but then there in the middle we kind of just weren’t playing out game … we couldn’t connect, we couldn’t focus. So we changed it up tonight and it worked really well. I wish we would have done it sooner,” Ellis said.

Salas experienced the most intense position change – from goalie to wing.

“It was definitely a big change. This was my first time even playing wing. I just ran as much as I could. It was a lot of fun. Overall we did really good tonight,” Salas said.

If she is going to continue playing wing, Salas said she needs to improve her footwork. She said there were a couple of times during the game when she wished her feet connected with the ball a little better.

Ellis said the Lady Falcons will continue to improve first touches and following through on plays.

Ward, center-back and middle-defense, said she has dedicated years of conditioning and training to develop a strong kick that has helped the Lady Falcons score this season. She began playing soccer in first grade. Since her Family arrived at Fort Campbell a few years ago, she has competed on the FCHS junior varsity and varsity soccer teams. “I like to dribble the ball around, but to play defense you have to have a pretty powerful kick,” Ward said. “So when my foot connects to the ball, I try to get it up there toward the goal for my teammates.”

This year, the team also has been working on their communication skills.

“Last year and this year, I feel like the teamwork vibe on the varsity team has improved so much,” Ward said.

Ward and Salas agreed they are excited this is their senior year of high school, but sad the regular season will end soon.

“I’m probably going to shed a couple of tears,” Salas said about their upcoming game.

Salas began attending FCHS her sophomore year. She joined the soccer team her junior year.

“This team doesn’t have any drama and we really do love each other,” Salas said. “We are all competitive so we do yell a little bit out on the field and during practice, but we all know it’s for the sake of improving our game.”