McMinn Central surged back from a two-goal deficit with a pair of quick strikes to open the second half, but a late counter-attack goal lifted CSLA to a 3-2 victory in the District 3-A title game on Wednesday at McMinn Central High School in Englewood, dailypostathenian.com reported.
Central Advances to Region 2-A Tournament
- Central advances to the Region 2-A tournament to face CSAS, a team that ended Central’s seasons in 2023 and 2025.
- Squad Resilience: All-District selections McKennah Slack, Adleigh Giles, Marley Spurling, and Delaney DeMotte remain vital heading into the Region 2-A tournament.
Tactical Shifts Spark a Second-Half Surge
The Chargers dug an early hole after surrendering goals in the first and seventh minutes. A Lady Eagle corner kick broke the deadlock immediately, followed swiftly by a converted penalty kick.
McMinn Central head coach Travis Tuggle altered the defensive shape, shifting the momentum entirely in the second forty minutes.
We made some tactical adjustments in the second half that worked. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t and these worked,
Tuggle told dailypostathenian.com. I feel like that second half was very much like the Bledsoe County game — CSLA couldn’t get the ball.
Central outshot the Lady Eagles 16 to 4 in the second half, putting eight of those attempts on target compared to just one for CSLA.
Controversial Handball Ruling After Free Kick
The comeback materialized immediately after the restart. In the 45th minute, McKennah Slack struck a free kick from 30 yards out to put the Chargers on the board. Just two minutes later, Lucero Franco found the back of the net from straightaway in the box to level the score at 2-2.
Controversy soon followed when a Lady Eagle appeared to commit a handball inside the box. Officials instead awarded a free kick to CSLA, ruling the infraction against the Chargers.
It’s unfortunate that officiating can crush girls’ dreams. The AR on our sideline told us the ref in the middle got the handball wrong. And the center ref didn’t listen to him,
Tuggle said to dailypostathenian.com. He gives them a free kick going the other way, which is baffling to me. I don’t understand. I don’t normally talk about officials, but in a game of this magnitude, you can’t mess that up.
A Rare Counter Punches Back
Following the equalizer, Central peppered the penalty area with sustained pressure for a quarter of an hour. Yet, CSLA capitalized on a rare transitional break in the 65th minute. Off a throw-in beside the flag, a cross into the box deflected off a defender’s shin and past the goal line for the game-winner.
Central advanced to the Region 2-A tournament next week, where they must confront Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences (CSAS). CSAS eliminated Central’s postseason runs in 2023 and 2025, and handed the Chargers their first loss of the season on October 8 by a 3-0 score.
We very well may meet them in a region championship. And if we do get there, I feel that we’ll beat them,
Tuggle said.
