Lady Jackets Tie Southern Indiana 0-0 in Home Opener

by Tim Smith

The Cedarville Yellow Jackets settled for a point in Wednesday’s home opener against the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles. The game proved to be an exciting one, but no goals would be scored by either squad ending the match in a draw. It was a solid result for the Jackets who were coming off of a 4-1 defeat to the University of Indianapolis last Thursday. 

Defense defined the first half of the match. Both teams had plenty of opportunities to score, but the opposing defenses stood tall against each attack. 

For the Yellow Jackets, this was seen through a strong half from goalie Brooke Ackley, who notched three saves against the Screaming Eagles’ three shots on goal. Southern Indiana kept the ball in their attacking third for the majority of the half, but the Cedarville defense kept them from paydirt. 

The Yellow Jackets, though, did not lack offense in the first half, making multiple opportunities off of counterattacks and racking up four corner kicks in the half. But, the Screaming Eagles’ defense stood the test, keeping the Yellow Jackets out of the goal. 

The second half would prove to be very similar to the first: many opportunities and strong defensive play. Both teams brought ferocity to their attacks out of halftime, but neither squad could seem to find the back of the net.

Ackley also continued her strong play, adding another eight saves to the stat sheet. The Yellow Jackets totaled 11 saves in regulation time, and the sophomore goalie was a part of each one.

The two teams would battle for two more ten-minute overtime periods, but still no goal would be scored. After 110 minutes of determined soccer, the match would end in a draw.

Though a win might have been preferred, Coach Meade was still proud of his Yellow Jackets’ efforts.

“It was an incredible effort, really by both teams,” said Meade. “I’m really proud of our players. We talked about how we had to play really hard if we wanted to take the next step from where we were in the spring, so I was really proud of them.”

The Cedarville Yellow Jackets get another home match this Saturday against No. 25 Lee. Meade knows the match isn’t going to be easy.

“They’re a top 25 team, they’re always ranked, they’re big, they’re fast and they’re strong. We’re going to have to do what we did tonight and then some for that match, so we’ve got a big task in front of us,” Meade said.

Tim Smith is a senior Biblical Studies major and staff writer for Cedars. He loves football, 3 Musketeers candy and primarily speaking in movie quotes.