It was a grueling, but rewarding, weekend in Smyrna for the MTSC U14 Lady Cosmos, a new traveling soccer club started by Warren County coaches Alan Brownyard, and Matt and Myra Jackson.
The Lady Cosmos were all tied up with four minutes remaining in the championship game when coach Myra Jackson switched up the attack while still holding a strong defense. It was then that Breezy Wanamaker made a game-winning pass to Katie Toney, who then broke through the defense and made the game-winning goal. That led the Lady Cosmos to become champions of the Smyrna Shootout in a 1-0 victory.
Despite the Lady Cosmos younger players, they had the winning spirit which won over the more experienced teams who had a statistical edge with more girls being at the 14-year-old age category.
“I knew it was going to be a hard fight for my girls and that it would take everything they had to come out on top,” said coach Myra Jackson. “Come out on top they did, and were undefeated all weekend and never conceded a goal.”
“I’ve never seen these girls play so well. Every single player was at the top of their game. Everyone played their part and position and trusted their teammates to do the same. They worked as a complete unit,” Jackson said. “This is the hardest competition they have ever faced. They played what appeared to be giants compared to them in two of the three games, with girls several feet taller and 10 or so pounds stronger. What helped us was our speed and our skill. Our defense was so strong all weekend and when you play great defense you can’t lose.”