UNIONVILLE — In the regular season finale of District 6-A play, the Community Viqueens found the back of the net early and relied on their defense to fend off the Cascade Lady Champions’ attack for the rest of the match on their way to a 1-0 victory Tuesday night.
“We knew coming into tonight that this game had a lot of importance within the district,” Viqueens head coach Chris Brothers said.
“Of course we wanted to get some revenge from when they beat us. Both teams fought tooth and nail tonight, and we were lucky enough to score the lone goal.”
The Viqueens (8-2-1, 4-1-1) set up for their first corner kick opportunity in the third minute of the match, and capitalized on the set piece when senior Abby Murrill headed the ball into the net from inside the box to make it 1-0.
While the Lady Champions couldn’t put a goal in the net, they fought throughout the first half for opportunities to level the game.
The closest chance came when junior Emma Ward broke free down the right side with only the Viqueens’ goalie to beat, but Murrill flew in from the opposite side to bring the run to an end in the closing minutes of the first half.
That same intensity continued for the duration of the match.
“Every time Community and Cascade meet, it’s a hard-fought match,” Lady Champions head coach Wendy Williams said.
“We got ours and they got theirs so far this season. We couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net, but our girls fought really hard.”
In the opening minutes of the second half, the Viqueens came close to increasing their lead when the Lady Champions attempted to clear the ball from their defensive end, but it unluckily deflected back towards the goal into junior Claire Perry’s grasp.
Community continued to take promising shots at goal early in the second half, but Cascade’s defense held strong to preserve their comeback chances.
Cascade found themselves with another shot to level the match when junior Abby Harris broke free down the right side, but was ultimately stopped by goalie Carlie Blanton with a close save.
As the match entered the final minutes, the Viqueens’ defense stood tall to secure the win and a first place finish in the district.
“Our defense and keeper stepped up big tonight,” Brothers said.
“We had some opportunities to score some more, but the defense set their feet in and played tremendous to help us out.”
With the district tournament ramping up next week, the Lady Champions will meet the Forrest Lady Rockets in Chapel Hill on Tuesday while the Viqueens will host the Cannon County Lions in the first round.

Cascade 0 0 - 0
Community 1 0 - 1

GOALS
Com — Abby Murril goal (3rd minute).