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Know When to Hold’em: Lady Trojan’s composure pays off in season-opening win

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Posted on August 24, 2017.

By Thomas Sellers Jr.

Millington freshman striker Destiny Jones chases the ball in front of the Central defense during last week’s game in Memphis.

MEMPHIS — The Millington Lady Trojans were excited about the season opener at Memphis Central last week. As Head Coach William Carter and his Lady Trojans arrived to Crump Stadium, the players were loose and gaining their focus on opponents the Lady Warriors. Before the kickoff, Carter reminded his girls to stay focused. Those words would come in handy early in the first half as Millington trailed 1-0. The Lady Warrior who scored the goal became the focal point of the Lady Trojans’ defense. Carter employed players like Keyanna Jones and Kamyiah Tomlin to stick close to the Lady Warrior. Tomlin’s defense was working limiting Central’s offense. Tomlin stayed within inches of the players causing frustration. During a Central throw-in, the Lady Warrior striker changed the meaning of that position by striking Tomlin with a punch. Tomlin absorbed the blow and held her composure as the red card came out. Once the Lady Warrior was ejected, the Lady Trojans seized control of the game with a first half goal from freshman Destiny Jones to tie the game. Keyanna Jones tallied the game-winner in the second half to make the final 2-1. “If we had to give out a game ball, I would have to say that game ball would go to Kamyiah Tomlin,” Carter said. “It’s not easy getting punched like that in the face, keeping your composure and walking off the field nice and calm. “That’s hard to do and she did what she had to do to not penalize the team,” he added. “And so we thank her for that. It kind of got us ‘Woken up,’ as the kids say. We stayed woke after that. That moment woke us up.” Millington started the opening minutes a step behind Central. The Lady Warriors were first to the ball and their fast pace gave then the 1-0 lead. Carter stuck to his plan of substituting multiple players to keep a fresh rotation. And the fresh legs guarding the Lady Warrior striker limited her freedom on the field. Her frustration grew leading to the punch and ejection. Meanwhile Millington players gained confidence and started to control the tempo. The Jones Girls took over on the offense end for the Lady Trojans. Destiny was first to score a goal before halftime blasting a shot into the net. In the second half Millington was the dominant team with multiple shots on goal. Keyanna was finally able to breakthrough and end the deadlock with a few minutes remaining in the contest. “It’s definitely good to be on the winning side starting the season vs. last season,” Carter said. “We look forward to Thursday continuing this when we host Power Center Academy for our first home game.” Carter and the Lady Trojans started off slow in his first season. But season two started off with a victory against a quality opponent.

“It felt really good to see players actually running out to finish off plays,” he concluded. “And we had the secondary line to finish up plays and clean up afterwards. That’s what we’ve been working on this whole time. So it was good to see it come to fruition.”

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