McCaughan goal lifts Lady Trojans to 3-2 win over King William

Lady Trojan Caitlin McCaughan rips a second half shot past King William's Jasmine Foster (13) and other Cavalier defenders.

Alan Chamberlain photos

With her team clearly in control in the second half against King William’s visiting Cavaliers, New Kent Lady Trojan soccer coach Cathy Anderson should have been the beneficiary of a relaxing evening. Not so.

Even though the Lady Trojans launched frequent shots at the Cavalier goal, only two had landed in the net. And the Cavaliers lurked just a goal away from overtaking their hosts.

As the clock ticked down toward 12 minutes left in regulation, the visitors drove home the tying goal on only their fourth shot of the night. But just when overtime appeared imminent, Lady Trojan striker Caitlin McCaughan came to the rescue.

Taking a pass from teammate Rachel Byers with under three minutes to go, McCaughan blasted the game winner past Cavalier keeper Taylor Wilson, handing New Kent a 3-2 victory in Wednesday night’s contest and raising the hosts’ record to 4-2.

Anderson breathed a huge sigh of relief afterward as she heaped praise on her senior striker.

“Caitlin had a beautiful, beautiful goal,” she said. “We played really well, and we had some young players come up and do a good job.

“But we need to put things away when we have the opportunities to put it away,” she added. “We’ve got to put it away early. That’s the biggest thing.”

Ten minutes into the match, New Kent jumped on top behind a long-range shot off the foot of Sydney Griffith that sailed over Wilson’s head and into the net. Three minutes later, however, the Cavs’ Delaney McKinney dribbled past New Kent defenders, winning a one-on-one battle with Lady Trojan keeper Chandler Dagenhart to deadlock the affair.

New Kent’s defense kept pressure off Dagenhart for the remainder of the first half.

The Lady Trojan offense missed its next five shots, but a break came on a corner kick with 11 minutes left. Kristen Taylor placed the ball perfectly in front of the Cav goal. Defenders blocked an initial shot, but Zoe Wallace punched the loose ball into the net for a 2-1 halftime lead.

After play resumed, New Kent dominated, but came up empty on eight consecutive shots. Then the Cavs struck on only their second scoring opportunity of the half. Natalie Harris drove past defenders to drill an open shot past Dagenhart. But the Lady Trojans resumed control, launching three more errant shots leading up to McCaughan’s heroics.

For the game, New Kent managed a 24-4 shooting edge. Dagenhart made one save while Wilson was credited with seven.

New Kent’s Kristen Taylor (13) battles for control of the ball with King William’s Hannah Rhea.