Chieftains, Buchanan settle for 1-1 draw
Published 8:37 am Thursday, May 24, 2018
DOWAGIAC — Victories have been tough to come by for the Dowagiac soccer team, so picking up a tie with visiting Buchanan may have felt like one.
The Chieftains were unable to maintain their 1-0 halftime advantage and settled for a 1-1 draw with the Bucks.
“The girls played well tonight,” said Dowagiac coach Chad Davis. “We held the lead for most of the game and played solid defense, but Buchanan came with a great set piece to even the match.”
Dowagiac grabbed a 1-0 lead on a goal by Anayda Lucio in the first half.
In the final 40 minutes of play, Buchanan’s Erica Mitchell scored on a direct kick to tie the score.
“It was a good game,” said Buchanan coach Katie Coules. “We dominated the second half and I don’t think Dowagiac expected that out of us.”
Both goalkeepers played well in the non-conference match.
Chieftains freshman Kaya Contreras was credited with 17 saves, while the Bucks’ Madison Schau had 15 saves.
“Madison is a strong veteran goalie who never let up and kept her team fighting,” Coules said. “Our backline really came out strong the 2nd half & worked together setting up the offensive movement.”
Dowagiac will wrap up the regular season at Berrien Springs Friday before opening up the Division 3 state soccer tournament at Coloma on Tuesday.
Buchanan heads to Bangor for its regular season finale Thursday.
The Bucks are the host of the Division 3 districts and will take on the winner of the Dowagiac-Coloma match May 31.
Parchment will host Berrien Springs, while Paw Paw will host Comstock in the other two first-round matches.
The Parchment-Berrien Springs winner will face the Paw Paw-Comstock winner in the other semifinal at a site to be determined May 31.
The championship match will be at Buchanan June 2.