The Calvary Cavaliers boys soccer team had an impressive week going 2-0 and picking up a valuable district win. The Cavs won a key 4-1 victory over district foe Evangel Eagles last Tuesday night. Jordan Wallace netted two goals. Branden Reeder and Thomas Murray each scored a goal. Abram Murray helped with three assists. Cameron Fileccia assisted on one goal. Wednesday night’s game against the Haughton Bucs was postponed until February 4. Calvary traveled to Monroe on Saturday and brought home a 5-2 win over the Ouachita Christian Eagles. Abram Murray scored two goals and helped with an assist on another. Branden Reeder scored two goals. Jordan Wallace added on to the scoreboard and picked up an assist. Thomas Murray collected two assists. Coach Adam Hester sees them firing off at the right time. “Great wins over Evangel and OCS,” Hester said. “We still have a lot we can improve. We need to finish better and improve our passing but the good part is we’re winning matches and still not in high gear yet.”
The Cavaliers are having some late-season scheduling woes as Northwood was canceled for Monday’s game so the Falcons could make up some district games that were canceled due to weathers. The lost games are hurting chances of needing to boost those power rankings for a playoff home game run. “The weather has impacted our schedule for sure,” Hester said. “Not having the Northwood game hurts as that would’ve been a chance to improve our position against good teams. We thought we’d be able to schedule Parkway as a replacement, but it fell through. With four games remaining, though, we’re in a great spot to win our second district title and play at home in the first round. The game versus Caddo Magnet on Thursday night is a big one.”
The senior-heavy Cavaliers are stepping up in closing part of the season. “The Murray boys continue to impress in the attack. Branden Reeder is starting to find the net again. Jordan Wallace has had a great stretch of games. Brennan Barber, our captain, has recently stepped back into the midfield when we altered our formation. He’s been great this year. Another captain, Michael Johnson has been steady in goal as we expected he’d be. We’re going to have some big shoes to fill with our six seniors that we lose.”
The ladies have had a rough week falling in all three matches including a district loss to Evangel on Tuesday night. The Lady Cavs are dealing with some injuries in key positions and are teetering on the edge of the playoffs. The week started a 4-1 loss versus Evangel. The score was a little deceiving. “The Evangel game was a thriller,” Hester said. “End to end action almost the whole way. They converted a penalty that our goalkeeper Audrey Baldwin nearly kept out. We equalized with an amazing goal Hallie Brown with a half volley from the top of the box. Unfortunately, we had to sub Audrey out due to a serious injury.” The game became too physical and injuries began to occur. “ Without Audrey, we have to take Hallie out of the midfield and put her in goal. It changes everything. Hallie is too important at midfield. Audrey is a two-year captain and has been in goal since eight grade. What was a tie with 12 minutes remaining ended with a 4-1 defeat. Our girls put everything into that game.”
Calvary then fell 5-0 to Parkway on Thursday at home. The Lady Cavs played minus four players against the Panthers. “There was a definite hangover effect for the Parkway match,” Hester said. The Lady Cavs took a Saturday afternoon trip to Monroe and lost 4-0 to the Ouachita Christian Eagles. They also played short-handed down three players against the OCS Eagles. “We changed our formation a bit with our defense, but couldn’t get enough going forward,” Hester said. “We’ll probably look a little different Monday versus Northwood as we hope to have some of those girls back.” Not only will they have some players back but also due to Baldwin’s season-ending injury, Kaylin Little rejoined the team for the remainder of the season. “What I love about Calvary is the willingness of our students to pitch in when times are desperate,” Hester said. “Being a small school you those that are willing to sacrifice.
The time is ticking on the Lady Cavs and the gap is closing on one of the elusive 24 spots in Division IV. The Lady Cavs will play Northwood on Monday at home and a crucial district road match at North Caddo on Tuesday. The urgency is there according to Hester. “These three last games are must-wins.”
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