STARKVILLE — A good left can be so much more dangerous with an equally effective right.
No, Starkville Academy Matt Sykes girls soccer coach hasn’t been giving his players boxing lessons. Instead, the first-year mentor has been encouraging the Lady Volunteers to use their collective experience to help them make history.
Starkville Academy’s performance Thursday shows it is heeding Sykes’ wishes. In the process, the Lady Volunteers moved one victory away from what is believed to be the school’s first state title in the sport.
Senior Lauren Lyle scored three goals, while classmate Shelton Spivey added two and Sydney Passons had another in a 6-0 victory against Indianola Academy in the semifinals of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Division III Championship.
“I think they realize the significance of what this run can mean,” Sykes said. “People are stepping up. … This is a historic run we hope we are going to finish. We want to continue this on to Monday.”
Starkville Academy (12-1-1) will take on Hartfield Academy at 3 p.m. Monday in Flowood. Lyle, Spivey, Passons and classmates Hays Miller, Savannah Hubbard, Hannah Cuevas, and Bonner Hughes played key roles in a performance that secured a third victory against Indianola Academy this season and held the Lady Colonels without a shot on goal in the first half. Starkville Academy led 5-0 after the first 40 minutes, which allowed Sykes to substitute liberally and to give the seniors a chance to spend the final part of their last game at a complex that has been their soccer home for years watching comfortably from the bench.
Several aspects made the evening even more special. Prior to the match, Miller’s mother, Jennifer, took pictures of Hays, Shelton, and Sydney running back toward their goal with their shirts tucked into their shorts as if their team had just scored. Spivey said after the match the shot was meant to replicate a similar picture of the teammates when they played Challenge soccer together, five or six years ago.
“It is going to be a little sad to look at both compared to each other from then to now,” Spivey said.
Just before the second half, Selena Gomez’s song “Kill Em With Kindness” created an ideal background on an afternoon in which the Lady Volunteers shared the ball, made runs for each other, hustled back on defense — sophomore defender Aubree Campbell was the best example — even in the final 20 minutes when the game was well in hand, and created a memorable snapshot for a squad that intends to make history.
“We have played together since we are little, and it is like we can tell where each other is going to run, where we need to make runs for each other, and where they are going to pass,” Lyle said. “It is a lot easier, especially for us seniors, to know where each other is going and to get open for each other.”
That’s why Lyle kept crashing the goal every time Spivey made a run on the left wing. Experience has taught Lyle that she can reap the rewards from Spivey’s left-footed shots or crosses if she is in position. Spivey was in the right spot three times in the first half to score her first hat trick of the season. Her first goal came in the 10th minute when she tucked home a loose ball off a shot from Spivey to give the Lady Volunteers a 2-0 lead. In the 16th minute, Spivey delivered another quality cross from the left to Lyle, who was wide open and had plenty of time to finish back to the open left corner of the goal. Her final goal came after Amber Bock sent a great lead pass to Spivey, whose shot was denied. Lyle cleaned up the rebound to send Starkville Academy on its way.
“I can tell (where she needs to be),” Lyle said. “If (Spivey) is further down to the touch line, I know I need to come back further up toward the 18. If she is closer to the 18, I need to go closer to the goal.”
Spivey said she has had years of practice developing her left foot, which is her strong side. Even though she has an equally effective right foot, Spivey knows her teammates will be there when she attacks and sends a shot or cross toward the frame. Spivey said the Lady Volunteers have learned to communicate and to play so well together because they don’t care who scores and that the end result is what matters, regardless of whether it comes from the right or the left foot.
“We all know who can do what and they can do it really good,” Spivey said. “(Playing for what is believed to be the program’s first state title) is a pretty big deal. We haven’t really had any chances of going to the championship in a while, so we’re excited about that.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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