Silverdale's Lady Seahawks won the DII-A East Region Finals Thursday night as they faced Christian Academy of Knoxville. A second half surge saw Silverdale win by a convincing 6-0 margin.
The Lady Seahawks came in with confidence—winning their regular season matchup against the Warriors by a score of 8-0. The Warriors, however, had been much improved since then and were looking to cause an upset.
It was a fairly even affair through the first forty minutes. Silverdale may have edged the visitors on possession—but just slightly. Both teams showed an ability to hold onto the ball and move it for long periods of time.
The difference came down to the way that they moved it. Silverdale always looked to play forward while the Warriors looked to stretch the gaps through horizontal passes or quickly dropping it back when under pressure.
The one exception came down the lefthand flank where captain Campbell Ayres combined with outside mid Sydney Clemons on more than a few occasions to breakdown the seahawks defense. Clemon’s on-the-ball skill and speed served as the perfect dunk to finish Ayre’s layups into space. The breakdown came when they tried to move it centrally. A poor touch or weak shot would see the chance fade to nothing.
The Seahawks, on the other hand, thrived centrally. Striker Addie Chapman—coming into the match with three goals and an assist in two playoff games—anchored the center of the attack. Her ball control and hold up play dictated everything the Seahawks did in attack. It was only on account of several uncharacteristic misses that Chapman was kept mostly quiet in the first half.
That all changed in the 35th minute. The Warriors fouled the Seahawks at the edge of the box to set up a free kick in a dangerous spot. Chapman stepped up to take it, and with good reason—curling her shot into the top shelf to open up the deadlock.
Despite Knoxville Christian’s valiant effort defensively, the Warriors went into the break down 1-0.
Just as in the first matchup, the Seahawks found their scoring boots in the second half.
It started just four minutes in, when Silverdale found its second on an Abigal Witten counterattack. Witten founder herself in acres of space after a quick turnover and Chapman wasted no time finding her.
These types of counter attacks were in abundance in the second half. The Warriors stayed compact in the back to ensure ample support in marking Chapman, but her presence opened up space out wide that the Silverdale wingers could run into.
With three assists, Chapman turned playmaker—consistently feeding her wingers into space. The Seahawks put four more past the Warriors in a dominant display in the second half. Witten scored again to join Hallie Chapman in claiming a second half brace. Hallie now has back-to-back braces in the playoffs.
Coach Scott Chapman’s team strength is their versatility on offense. Backed by a stout defense, Silverdale has shown the ability to score in a variety of ways. Through three games in the playoffs, the Seahawks have out scored their opponents 16-2 with 6 different goal scorers through that span. They can play direct. They can hold possession and break teams down methodically.
It will take a team that can match their talent man for man to put Silverdale out. The Seahawks will have to wait till the next round of playoffs to see if such a foe exists in DII-A Tennessee girls’ soccer.
Game Summary:
Silverdale 1 5 – 6
CAK 0 0 – 0
Goal Scorers:
Silverdale- Addie Chapman, Abigal Witten(2), Hallie Chapman(2), Gabi Fernandez