By CHRIS SIERS

sports@t-g.com

CHAPEL HILL — Several years ago, a noticeable change in culture took place within the Cascade soccer program.

In the years that followed, Cascade picked up a pair of District 6-A titles, beginning in 2017 and again in 2018.

Give 'em three straight.

On Tuesday night, the Lady Champs won their third consecutive title, defeating Huntland, 3-0, in the 6-A finals.

Coach Zack Spears credits the classes that came before for helping shape a winning culture.

“We started out with some girls who really built this infrastructure. They've come in and they've all built on each other. A lot of these softball girls have been to the state and they've been in big situations over and over again. These girls are more pressure broken than any I've worked with,” he said.

It wasn't the cleanest of games for Cascade, who appeared sluggish at times in the first half.

Cascade needed nearly 30 minutes of game time to break the scoreless stalemate.

When the Lady Champs finally scored, it was senior Carmen Ray who delivered yet again to put Cascade on top.

In the 29th minute, sophomore Elli Chumley lined up a corner kick to the front of the Huntland goal, which was finished off by Ray for the first score of the night.

While the score didn't change much through the ensuing 35 minutes of game time, Cascade's looks and shots on goal did improve.

“We didn't look really good. The second half was much better. We looked a lot more like we were awake. We have to wake up before we play,” Spears said.

Cascade did tack on a pair of late goals to put the game well out of reach, both off the toe of Caroline McKamey.

McKamey scored her first goal on a breakaway in the 75th minute. Her second goal was assisted by Ray in the 80th minute.

Cascade did just enough on the offensive end of the field to put the game out of reach, but with the way the Lady Champion defense has performed of late, the offense didn't need a lot of production.

A large part of that success can be credited to Chumley and senior Kailey Snell anchoring the back line.

Thursday's district championship marked the Lady Champs' eighth shutout this season.

“They have been absolutely awesome. We lost a defender and we had to move Elli to defense instead of defensive mid. She fell in and played a position she hasn't played all year and played it amazingly. And Kailey is just Kailey. Nobody is going to outrun her,” Spears said.

Cascade also got a quality game from Emily Curl in the 6-A title game as well.

“I was really impressed with Emily Curl. She came out there and locked them down in the center. They were working it through the middle and we put her out there and she didn't let anything happen after that,” Spears added.

Having trudged through the district tournament unscathed, Cascade's attention now turns to a difficult region slate, featuring reigning Class A champs, Signal Mountain.

With the way his defense is playing, Spears says as long as his team takes advantage of the opportunities afforded, a trip to untested waters could be in the future for the Lady Champions.

“I think if we show up, we can do what we've never done. And that's the game. I think we can challenge anybody. We're going to give ourselves a chance. As long as we can finish when we get our open chances, we're going to be in good shape,” he said.

Cascade will begin Region 3-A play on Tuesday against Chattanooga School of Arts and Sciences at Cascade.

Huntland 0 0 — 0

Cascade 1 2 — 3

First Half

C — Carmen Ray goal, Elli Chumley assist, (29th minute).

Second Half

C — Caroline McKamey goal, (75th minute).

C — McKamey goal, Ray assist (80th minute).