Posted on August 30, 2018.
By Thomas Sellers Jr.
The Millington Lady Trojan Soccer coaching tandem of Craig Malloy and Rosemary Boswell knew last Thursday would be a physical test for their players.
Boswell was on hand at last year’s showdown against the Memphis Central Lady Warriors when a punch was thrown and a player was ejected. “The Battle of MCHS” is usual intense between the Lady Warriors and Lady Trojans.
In the 2018 edition of the game, it was the Millington Central High School players victorious 5-2.
“It took us really thinking about the shape of our team,” Malloy said. “Spreading the field, we faulted a little in our communications. We played on top of each other from time to time. But apart from that, a very physical game from a very physical opponent. I look forward to seeing them again.”
The win over the Lady Warriors improved Millington to 2-0 on the season. The Lady Trojans won their season opener 9-0 over Haywood.
After more than a week, the Lady Trojans led by seniors Bailey White, Bailey Perkins, Jackie Alaniz, Courtney Porter, Savannah Reece and Karyme Brooks finally returned to the field to take on area rival Central.
It took the Lady Trojans about 10 minutes to get the flow of the contest against Central. Millington possessed the ball mostly in the opening moments leading to a goal from freshman Koreena Bedford.
She blasted the ball into the hands of the Lady Warrior goalie. The momentum of the shot carried the arms of the goalie across the goalie line giving Bedford and the Lady Trojans the point.
Bedford made the score 2-0 at the 28-minute mark of the first half when she chipped in a rebound into the net.
“High school soccer is not pay to play,” Malloy noted. “So not every player is getting as much time as one another. This team understands that. They understand it’s a team.
“It’s very exciting to have freshmen talent coming through,” he continued. “The player in question Bedford is a very gifted goalkeeper. But we also have use for her on the field. She’s a very good all-around player. I’m excited to have her.”
Millington led 2-1 at the break after a goal from the Lady Warriors. Both teams scored quickly in the first moments of the second half with Harmonie Jackson tallying a point for the Lady Trojans. The sophomore made the score 3-1 with a breakaway goal.
With the overall score 3-2 in favor of Millington, the Lady Trojans closed out the competitive phase of the game with goals from Destiny Jones and Bedford closing out her hat trick.
Happy with a 2-0 start and scoring 14 points, Malloy said he sees a few areas of improvement for his squad.
“That’s highly classified but I will be working on that,” Malloy said jokingly. “And that’s well known by our players.”
