On Saturday afternoon, Decatur FC drove up to Music City for the club’s first-ever away game. And while rain soaked the fields of the FC Nashville Wolves, it wasn’t enough to dampen the team’s blazing hot start to the game that ultimately led them to a 6-0 victory.
“We adapted to the conditions early in the game,” Decatur coach Campbell Chapman said. “Got on the front foot, scored a good goal early, and from that point on, I didn’t think we were ever in danger of losing the game. [It] was just merely a matter of how many we’re going to score.”
After several good runs into the box in the first minutes of the game, Emma Chapman nailed the ball into the corner of the goal to open the game’s scoring. A few minutes later, Breanna Barley received a cross on the right side of the field. Barley waited out the goaltender and crossed the ball into the goal, and Decatur’s lead extended to two.
Minutes later, Decatur FC’s attack succeeded after a poor punt from Nashville left the ball far inside the Wolves zone, and after several quick passes from Decatur, Cameryn Maddox knocked the ball into the goal for the 3-0 lead.
“The third goal was a fortunate goal off a goalkeeper sort of error,” Chapman said. “Because what you couldn’t see on the field was the ball was soaking wet, and it slipped through, and then so three nil at halftime.”
Throughout much of the first half, Decatur FC was on the attack. It seemed at times as though the ball was being played on only half a field as Decatur repeatedly hemmed Nashville in its own zone and collected clears that it turned back into scoring chances.
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But in the second half, the Wolves came out swinging. Play became more balanced across the field as Nashville attacked more aggressively and had several high-danger scoring chances throughout the half. But Decatur FC’s defense stood strong, repeatedly stripping the Wolves of the ball and passing it back downfield for their offensive teammates. And where the defense faltered, aggressive play from goaltenders Jaddah Foos and Kaitlin Sinkler kept Nashville off the score sheet.
“We’re a very attack-minded team,” Chapman said. “We overload in the front areas to try and put pressure on the other team, which does leave us exposed at the back at times. But you know, the girls at the back … are fantastic athletes. If there’s a mistake made by any one of them, then we have them to make it up but then again, all credit to Jaddah. She came out, made a couple of good plays in key areas where the ball sort of slowed down in the water, and she was brave and came out and Kaitlin obviously came in and did her job.”
Decatur didn’t allow the Wolves to have momentum for long, either. Cameryn Maddox netted her second of the game after a failed clear from Nashville landed at her feet at the top of the box. She shot it into the bottom right corner to extend the lead to four. Jazmin Ferguson netted her first of the season with a header off a corner kick to put Decatur FC up 5-0, and Maysoon El-Shami sealed the game with a long shot that ricocheted off a Nashville player and into the net to make it 6-0.
Decatur FC’s performance was again dominant as it was in their 5-0 opening win over Atlanta Fire FC. And despite a few defensive lapses, the team stood strong to get their second win.
Their six goals earned their coach something extra, too.
“[Team owner] Gareth [O’Sullivan] told me if we got 6, he’d give me a pint in the pub later on,” Chapman laughed.
Decatur FC plays again on Friday, June 7 at 7 p.m. at Decatur High School against Georgia Impact.
