After battling to a 1-1 tie in both meetings last season, Marshall County and Cornersville were finally able to determine a winner on the pitch when the Tigerettes (1-0) defeated the Lady Bulldogs 1-0 on Thursday afternoon at CHS.

Making her first ever start at goaltender, Marshall County sophomore Alexis Ford had a splendid debut in net and made an early goal by senior striker Emily Spence stand up by recording 10 saves in the contest.

"Alexis has been a blessing for us. We lost our starting goaltender from the last two years and she's stepped in nicely for us. She's got all the physical gifts needed to play the position," said MCHS coach Mark Redferrin.

Even match

The match was evenly played with each team firing 12 shots in the contest. Midfielder Abbey Redferrin and striker Callie Johnson both took four shots to pace the Tigerettes with Redferrin also recording an assist. Spence attempted three shots as well, while Clara Wilson registered one shot.

Senior striker Amala Elder and sophomore midfielder Anna Claire Foster both took five shots to lead Cornersville, while Jessica Dunn attempted two shots. Lady Bulldog goaltender Hope Taylor turned in a solid performance and notched eight saves overall.

"That's the best I've seen us look this year even though we had two players out with concussions and had four eighth graders in our starting lineup," said Cornersville coach Lindsey Browning. "Marshall County beat us 5-2 in a scrimmage two weeks ago so I see this as a huge improvement."

Marshall County wasted little time getting on the board, as they scored just three minutes into the game to take a 1-0 lead. After Redferrin rifled a shot off the top post of Cornersville's net, Spence chased down the rebound and lined the ball into the lower left hand corner of the net.

True advantage

"We always tell our girls that we want to start strong and finish strong. When you score first, it gives you a psychological advantage. It turned out to be the difference in the game," said Mark Redferrin.

The Lady Bulldogs nearly tied the match in the fifth minute when Foster cranked a long range shot from the right hand side of the field that ricocheted off the upper left hand corner of the MCHS net .

Ford then made a diving save on a low line drive by Dunn in the 21 minute before Taylor stopped a low, skidding shot by Johnson late in the first half.

Almost scored

Cornersville once again came tantalizingly close to scoring early in the second half when Elder had a shot bounce off the left post in the 45th minute after being deflected by Ford.

The Tigerettes missed a couple of opportunities to extend their lead over the next eight minutes, as Johnson had a header ricochet off the left post in the 47th minute before she saw another shot go just wide of the net in the 53rd minute.

Ford then thwarted a couple of scoring chances by Elder and Foster midway through the second half before Marshall County increased their pressure on CHS' net over the final 15 minutes to hang on for the 1-0 victory.