NEW HOPE — It’s difficult to hide as the tallest person in a group of people, but Saturday, New Hope High School defender Landry Allison pulled it off.
In the 19th minute of New Hope’s rivalry soccer match against Caledonia, Allison floated around Caledonia’s box as teammate Jose Castillo prepared to take a corner kick. Caledonia players frantically looked for players to mark, barking directions at one another. Somehow, Allison remained unmarked at the back post.
“I stayed back, squatted down a little bit and waited,” Allison said.
Castillo whipped a perfect corner kick to Allison, who headed the ball perfectly toward the ground and past both a defender and the goalkeeper for the opening goal of the game.
“I had eyes on it the whole time,” Allison said, noting the near-glancing touch from teammate Austin Minichino. “It was just instinct (to head it low instead of top corner).”
New Hope would carry a 2-0 lead into the break before holding off a late Caledonia charge for a 2-1 derby-day win.
New Hope coach Andrew Olsen said the Trojans work diligently in practice each day to perfect their set-piece play design, and that Allison and Minichino — ”the team’s “bigs” — are the primary targets.
“It was a great ball from Jose, and I’m thankful (Allison) was in the right spot, just like we practiced,” Olsen said.
Jack Oswalt added the second goal for the Trojans (5-1-1) in the 39th minute. Oswalt gathered a cross about 15 yards in the middle of the box and slotted it low and left.
Caledonia (2-6) would rue its wasted opportunities, particularly in the first half when the Cavaliers found space on the right flank and wasted a string of point-blank opportunities in front of goal. Caledonia coach Louis Alexander was pleased to see his team respond to the tactical changes that freed senior Logan Burges for deep runs to the backline and Charlie Newman for well-timed runs into the box, but the duo failed to connect on a half-dozen “quality” chances in the game.
“It’s certainly a lack of execution, and for me, that’s disheartening,” Alexander said, “because that’s a reflection of our focus in the game, and that’s one thing we can control: what’s between our ears.”
Alexander said his players became frustrated at their lack of finishing in the final third, especially after New Hope took a 2-0 lead. The Cavaliers’ lack of focus was also a root issue in their 1-0 loss to Itawamba in their district opener Friday night, Alexander said.
“If one ball didn’t go our way or we missed in front of an open goal, we let it snowball,” Alexander said. “At times, we weren’t mentally tough enough to get through it. But, we’re gonna have a great day of training Monday, and I’m gonna test them mentally, see where they’re at and get them to work through it.”
Caledonia had its chances late. The Cavs capitalized in the 69th minute when Braden Walters rocketed a 20-yard free kick back post and into the net, just a minute after blasting one off the back post from a similar distance.
Caledonia will travel to South Pontotoc on Tuesday, while New Hope opens district play at Neshoba Central.
Caledonia girls 2, New Hope 2
It wouldn’t be a derby match without a bit of controversy.
New Hope (6-0-1) recovered from a 1-0 deficit to take a 2-1 lead 35 minutes into their game against rival Caledonia (5-3-1) before Caledonia won a penalty kick shortly before halftime. Caledonia senior Lauren Brown took the spot kick but sent it wide left. However, the center referee said he didn’t signal for Brown to take the kick and awarded her a second kick, which she shot the same direction, this time past New Hope goalkeeper Megan Neeb.
New Hope coaches were unhappy with both the foul and the re-kick. The Trojans had taken control of the game at that point with goals from Allie Sanford and Chelsea Teague, just three minutes apart.
“It was unlucky for us,” Olsen said. “I thought our girls responded well being down 1-0; we’ve fought hard against Caledonia over the years, but we’ve lost the last couple of games.
“Nobody likes a tie, but it was a good day for us.”
Each team had a handful of hopeful shots in the second half, but neither Neeb nor Caledonia freshman ‘keepers Ayden Forrester or Pressley Byrd encountered any trouble.
“Main thing, we gave up two set piece goals today, but none in open play, and that’s big for us,” Olsen said. “All year, we’ve given up just one open-play goal. That’s a big confidence boost for us.”
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