Central Fellowship wins third straight championship behind hat trick from Lois Tanner

The Central Fellowship Lancers are an experienced bunch. The team came into the GIAA Class 2A championship seeking their third consecutive state title, after all. 

That experience — and the group’s strong bonds and communication — led to a dominant performance for Central Fellowship, as the Lancers (23-1) scored a barrage of goals near the end of the first half to fuel a 5-0 win over Westminster Christian (16-4) that gave them the state championship.

The Lancers were even ordering each other around during the postgame trophy ceremony — they knew exactly where to stand for the camera. and exactly what poses to strike.

“It’s a lot of fun. Hard work pays off. Three in a row is really exciting, it says a lot about our program and a lot about our girls,” CFCA head coach Teddy Tanner said. “Just really excited.”

The game was actually scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, but torrential rains forced the showdown to be rescheduled to Wednesday after lightning struck multiple times as CFCA was warming up.

The layover did nothing to quiet the Lancers’ powerful attack. Tanner’s daughter, Lois, continued her winning ways on the pitch. The junior forward notched four goals, including a hat trick in the first half, to steer the offense. Both father and daughter, though, gave credit to the team behind Lois for her scoring prowess.

“I’m just so proud of how great we did and how much success we’ve had this season. We all worked together as a team to get here. We finished here, we got it done, now we’ve got a three-peat,” Lois said.

Central Fellowship’s other goal was scored on a penalty kick in the second half by senior Morgan Riley, a senior who is bound for Young Harris in the fall. Teddy and Lois Tanner both praised Riley’s efforts. It was Lois who was penalized to set up the shot, but she let Riley step in for the kick.

“I’ve been playing with her since like the seventh grade, so I feel like our bond has grown tremendously,” Riley said. She was like, ‘Go ahead, get your goal.’ I think it really shows how close we really are and how much she appreciates me being her teammate as well.”

That closeness showed in the Lancers’ staunch defense, as well. While the offense took a bit to get going — Central Fellowship’s first goal came about 12 minutes into the contest — the defense routinely quelled Westminster’s attempted drives, booting the ball away.

“The defense did a really good job. A veteran goalkeeper, but a young defense — young girls getting it done. It says a lot about the future,” Tanner said.

The group also talked back and forth almost constantly, discussing everything from positioning to smart passing while acting as a cohesive unit. The chatter was also positive, as teammates congratulated each other after a stop or a nice kick.

“They chatter a lot outside the field. A lot of meaningless, stupid stuff,” Tanner joked as his team laughed on the sideline nearby. “They’re good at chatting, good at communicating. They love each other and they care about each other, so that’s easier to do on the field when you care about each other.”

Westminster did not allow the Lancers’ five goals easily, however. The Lions played solid defense of their own early on. Lois Tanner’s goals took poise. Her third effort was perhaps the most difficult, as it skittered into the net only after Lois had to jostle with a pair of Westminster defenders and fell down just as she shot the ball. The forward looked exhausted after the score.

Westminster also had pressure of its own right before intermission, but veteran CFCA keeper Emory Andrews snatched the ball up a few times to make some skilled saves.

That continued after the break, as the Lions threatened repeatedly in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. One particularly close call came when Andrews deflected a ball and Westminster nearly scored on the carom, the ball narrowly missing the net.

After that initial outburst to start the second half, though, Central Fellowship took control again. Things dried up for a bit before Riley drilled her penalty kick with about 13 minutes left, a shot the Westminster keeper did not even leap to try and snag.

Tanner’s last goal with about four minutes remaining was icing on the cake, as the Lancers ran the clock out and received the GIAA Class 2A trophy for the third straight year.

“I’d say maybe we can try for it again next year, sort of a four-peat. That’s definitely what we’re gonna move towards,” Lois Tanner said.” This year’s been a lot of fun. I’m so proud of this team and I love playing with all of them.”