On Friday night, the Lady Bulldogs drew the Marist War Eagles in an action-packed game at home at North Dekalb Stadium. The intense rivalry game didn’t disappoint, and goals from Solai Washington (‘24) and Kara Croone (‘24) carried the Bulldogs to a 2-2 draw full of good soccer from two very strong sides.

For the first 20 minutes of the first half, both teams appeared very evenly matched, and shots for both teams were few and far between. Chamblee’s defense remained resolute and outside backs Cassidy Kuehne (’25) and Reagan Kuehne (‘23) were able to keep the Marist wingers quiet, and center backs Regan Drummond (‘23) and Cameron Pfau (‘23) locked the center down, constantly frustrating the Marist attack. In the 21st minute, Solai Washington drove well into the box after receiving the ball on the right wing and beating defender after defender, before laying the ball off to Sara Bowzard (‘25), whose low shot was deflected by a Marist defender. A minute later, however, Marist opened the scoring after an attacker latched onto a well-placed through ball past Drummond and Pfau and though keeper Mary Entrekin (‘25) came off her line and looked poised to shut the opportunity down, the War Eagles attacker was able to evade her by inches and passed the ball into an open net.

Chamblee came out with a vengeance, and Chamblee’s midfield trio of Alessandra Washington (‘25), Bowzard, and Kyla Osborne (‘25) kept the game physical and their well-placed passes forward continued to look dangerous throughout. With 10 minutes left in the first half, Croone was able to get on the end of one such pass and sped past multiple defenders to get a shot off, which barely missed. The back-and-forth action continued, though, as Marist expertly wove their way forward through the midfield a minute later with rapid-fire passing, before releasing a promising through ball, ending in a shot for Marist just over the crossbar. Just five minutes later, though, Chamblee found a well-deserved equalizer through Solai Washington, who after receiving a ball from Cassidy Kuehne in the box, cut back onto her left and cleanly shot the ball into the bottom left corner with only five minutes left in the half. Chamblee looked poised to score another before halftime, first through a header by Solai Washington off a great cross by Gabby King (‘23) and then through a phenomenal run by Croone with ten seconds left, but the Lady Bulldogs went into the half tied 1-1.

The second half opened with just as much intensity as the first half did. Two minutes in, Croone and Solai Washington combined beautifully to send the latter far down the wing, who then cut it back for Croone who weaved back and forth before sending it back to Solai Washington, whose shot was saved by the Marist keeper. A few minutes later, Marist was able to work their way toward

the goal, but Reagan Kuehne stripped an attacker of a great opportunity inside the 6-yard box. Following a lengthy injury stoppage for Osborne, who eventually had to be subbed off, Marist kept up the pressure, but Chamblee’s defense was more than up to the challenge, and the Pfau sisters stayed strong on the left side of the defense, Cassidy Pfau (‘26) having been subbed on, and denied some great combination play by Marist’s attack. Chamblee once again had a great spell of possession, and Alessandra Washington’s shot from distance 12 minutes into the half looked poised to take the lead for Chamblee but went just over. Just a minute later, Croone got on the end of a pass from Harrison and sped past two defenders to drive a low shot to her right, but was denied by the keeper’s trailing foot. The first shot on Chamblee’s goal came 17 minutes into the half by Marist forward Claire Walsh, but Entrekin made a brilliant save. Just seconds after, following great play through the midfield, Croone received a pass from Solai Washington, went on another phenomenal run, and slotted the ball coolly past the Marist keeper to take the lead to raucous cheers from the Chamblee crowd. 

Just a minute later, Chamblee looked poised to extend their lead off an incredible freekick from distance by Cassidy Kuehne but was denied what would have undoubtedly been one of the best goals all season by the crossbar. Entrekin continued to come up big throughout on the other side of the field, making two great saves in quick succession to preserve Chamblee’s lead. However, with six minutes left in the half, Marist attacker Emma Sturgis battled her way onto the end of a long ball over the top of Chamblee’s defense and drove an unstoppable shot into the lower left corner to tie the game 2-2. 

Marist almost seemed ready to take the lead less than a minute later when a shot far outside the box found Entrekin well off her line, but the ball soared just inches wide into the side netting for a goal kick. Chamblee instantly regrouped, and King sent a perfect pass to Croone on the left wing, who sent a dangerous cross to the middle, which the Marist keeper grabbed just before Solai Washington could get on the end of it. In the remaining minutes, Chamblee battled valiantly for another goal, sending the ball into the Marist half repeatedly looking for a winner, but in the end, came away with a hard-fought draw.