Central girls get 3-0 shutout against Northeast for key region win

The Central Chargers used two goals from Louden Busbee and a superb goalkeeping effort from Tacoyia Braswell to defeat the Northeast Raiders 3-0 at Ed Defore Sports Complex Tuesday afternoon.

“We’re excited and pumped up about the win. It’s a region win, it’s important for us,” Central head coach Jennifer Tillery said after the match. “Northeast put up a great fight. They made us earn every goal and were pressing us really hard.”

It was a battle between two young teams. The Chargers have only five players that are not freshmen or sophomores, Tillery said. She’s been coaching many of the players since their seventh grade season when she came on at Miller when her daughter played there. The experience for her team was the high point of the match for her.

“All my players got to play, and that’s a big thing for us. We’re a young team looking for experience,” she said. “We’ve got two region games coming up and this is our only game this week, so it’s something good that we can put this into practice and know exactly — ‘hey, these are the things we need to work out.’”

The Raiders played solid defense for most of the game and had some decent looks of their own thanks to nice aggression from forwards Casia Huff and Furaha Safi.

“We wanted to have four back because we knew offensively that they were a pretty good scoring team. Our goalkeeper did what she could do, but they just did a little better than us tonight,” Northeast head coach Letita Coleman said. “I’m especially proud of my seniors because they’re dedicating their last year to our program… I give credit and kudos to all my girls for their efforts tonight.”

The Northeast girls did not play last year, as all three games listed on their schedule were forfeits. The program has not played consistently since being reestablished six years ago, according to the head coach.

Coleman was proud of the team for sticking together this season in a tough situation.

“We have to hold our head up and learn from our mistakes. Each day you should strive to get better,” Coleman said. “One moment this season I’ll never forget, it was close, we played in Putnam County. It was 18 degrees. I had a lot of respect for my girls after that one, because who plays in that wearing shirts and shorts? They’ve really worked hard.”

A trio of goals tell the story

Central controlled the ball for much of the first half, slipping through Northeast’s defense often enough to get several shots on goal but failing to score for a bit.

Busbee led the charge that eventually helped the Chargers break through. With 12 minutes left in the opening half, she took advantage of a rogue pass slipping past Northeast’s back line and dribbled close toward the goal before tucking the match’s first score into the left side of the net.

Busbee struck again just four minutes later with a more impressive goal, as she got some open space and skillfully dribbled her way around a few defenders before kicking to the right of the Raiders’ keeper this time to make it 2-0.

“She’s one of our captains, she’s a fantastic player,” Tillery said of Busbee. “She just works hard and is able to lead the team. We’ve only got two seniors, but she’s a junior… She’s able to lead from the field, direct the play and guide the team. They look up to her and have a lot of respect for her.”

The 2-0 score held into the intermission, but Central made some more noise right after the second half began. After fending off some Northeast attacks, the Chargers drove the ball right in front of the Raiders’ goal, whiffing on one kick before Moryah Mattox knocked it in to the left of the keeper to make it 3-0 as Mattox shook her fists in celebration.

The Raiders held the Chargers off for the rest of the game and even had a few decent chances themselves, but Central keeper Tacoyia Braswell smothered anything that came into the box. Braswell had an impressive game overall, even directing her team around from her spot in goal.

“They can’t always hear me, and with the pollen out here I can’t always yell as loudly this week,” Tillery said, smiling. “(Braswell) is just saying things that she’s heard me say for years, I’ve coached her since she was in seventh grade. She’s a fantastic keeper.”

The Central girls improved to 4-8 on the season and 3-3 in region play with the win. They get a break before facing the ACE Gryphons on the road April 8. 

Northeast, which dropped to 1-7 overall and 1-4 in region play, will have its next game against Houston County on the road April 11.