CULLMAN – Heather Choron drove the ball through the hands of goalkeeper Ashley Grace with 21:31 left in the second half to propel Albertville past the Cullman Lady Bearcats 1-0 and take home the regular season title in Class 6A, Area 14.
Choron's goal gave the visitors enough momentum to fight off the Lady Bearcats in crunch time in a matchup of no. 3 vs. no 4 in the current Class 6A state soccer poll.
No. 4 Albertville remains undefeated in Area 14 at 3-0 with one game remaining against Brewer on April 18. No. 3 Cullman is 2-2 in area play and 14-3-1 for the season. The Lady 'Cats had their five-game winning streak stopped and lost for the first time in the month of April.
Albertville was the aggressor, outshooting Cullman on goal attempts. In the first half, it was a 7-4 advantage for Albertville with Cullman unable to get a shot on goalkeeper Nayeli Jimenes until less than 15 minutes remained in the opening half.
Grace was solid for coach Casey Brown, fighting off numerous tries with Cullman on the defensive side for much of the opening half. The game was scoreless at intermission.
Cullman had one shot on goal for the second half with Albertville attacking the Lady Bearcats' zone for 14 attempts in the final stanza.
Down 1-0 late in the match, the Lady 'Cats had several chances to get the ball near the Albertville goal, but were turned away by the Lady Aggies' defense and also suffered a pair of offside calls while in possession.
Cullman hosts Arab on Thursday at 5 p.m. and meets Westminster Christian next Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. to end the regular season.
The Lady 'Cats will be in the first round of the 6A state playoffs at Southside-Gadsden April 29. Game time has not been set.
Copyright 2017 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
