By Frank Benik
Much like an old western showdown, rivals Charleston and Mattoon high school will play this Saturday for the third time this season in the second Annual Lady Trojans Spring Classic. The teams’ two previous meetings have ended in a 3-0 win for the Trojans, and a 1-1 tie. The tie, which was the most recent game, snapped the Trojans eight-game win streak.
Saturday’s game is set for high noon. How fitting.
After playing the previous two contests on the road against Mattoon (St. Teresa Tournament and at Mattoon), the Trojans will finally get a crack at the Green Wave on familiar soil. CHS coach Paul Stranz expects his girls to be hungry for the opportunity to play Mattoon again, especially his seniors.
“The girls were disappointed,” Stranz said. “There are good ties, and there are bad ties. It was good for them (Mattoon) but our girls kinda saw it as a loss. Hopefully the entire team will get up for it this Saturday. Especially the seniors.”
The Trojans (10-1-2) are entering the Spring Classic on a two-game win streak after defeating Danville 3-1, and Mt. Zion 2-0. The two wins ended a skid for the Trojans, who tied twice and lost once during the stretch.
Both Stranz and Mattoon coach Ryan Ghere expect the game to be a defensive battle. Both coaches also agreed that scoring opportunities would be rare and that taking advantage of chances in front of the net would be critical.
Both Mattoon and Charleston will play a doubleheader on Saturday, with CHS playing Dunlap and Mattoon playing Champaign Central at 9 a.m.
Things to watch for:
• If fatigue becomes a factor, and how each team responds.
• If Mattoon can keep focused with prom coming up this weekend.
• How each team plays in front of the net, with scoring opportunities expected to be rare.
Tags: Charleston, Girls, Lady Trojan Spring Classic, Mattoon, Paul Stranz, Ryan Ghere, Soccer, varsity
