Columbia’s Jr. Captain Fae Harrell holds off Roxana So. Cloe Copeland during the Sectional semifinal match on May 15, 2018
The Columbia Eagles continued their relentless run to return to the Final Four with a decisive 6-0 win over the Roxana Shells on Tuesday. Freshman Mary Gasaway opened the scoring nine minutes in when she nodded a header into the net at the back post, sent in by Kennedy Jones. Five minutes later it was Jr. Captain Fae Harrell (pictured above) who replicated the result for the early 2-0 lead. Columbia Eagles Shut out Roxana Shells
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Columbia also got goals from Fr. Kyra Bivins in the 30th, as she cleaned up a loose ball in the six yard box. In the second half, Jr. Kennedy Jones added a brace, bringing her season total to 51! The final goal was by Sophia Bonaldi as her hard shot from beyond the box deflected off a defender in the 77th minute for the final margin.
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With five players in double figures, the Eagle’s are a difficult team to defend, with all three primary central midfielders – Sophia Bonaldi, Haley Glover and Regan Mauch – included in that group. Harrell plays behind the central midfielders and has 11.
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My first Shell’s game and I was impressed. The team is led offensively by a pair of sisters, Sr Emma Lucas and Fr Macie Lucas, as the Alton Telegraph noted. I’m sorry to read that Sr. Goalkeeper Braeden Lackey is headed for a college volleyball career because despite the score, she came up big several times and showed very strong fundamentals. Sr. Alyssa Autery, a captain and a sweeper in front of Lackey, also drew my attention with her positive leadership of the defense and the vision she showed that allowed her to be in the right place at the right time during an evening that was the toughest challenge the Shell’s faced this season. Roxana earned their second straight Regional title in advancing to this game, their first ever coming last year. A great trend and a team that started four underclassmen will bring back a good core for 2019.
The Eagles will face Althoff in the Sectional Final on Friday at 6pm, at Columbia. The teams met on March 17th at Althoff where the Crusaders won 1-0 as a culmination of the Metro Cup tournament that saw both teams play four games in the first six days of the season.
