By JOE BUIE
Tyler Morning Telegraph
It took just two years for the Tyler Junior College women's soccer team to beat the top dog in Region XIV.
Cara Newton scored in the first half, and Christine Ragona followed suit in the second half, as the Apache Ladies blanked the Navarro College Lady Bulldogs, 2-0, in the regional final Sunday night at Pat Hartley Field.
TJC (15-0-1), in only its second year to have a women's soccer team, needs one more victory -- Saturday at Meridian (Miss.) Community College -- to advance to the national tournament in Tyler.
Navarro (12-5) had won six consecutive regional titles and qualified for five straight national tournaments. The Lady Bulldogs lost all three meetings with TJC this season.
"We always knew we could give Navarro a good run for their money," said Newton, a sophomore forward from England. "Tonight, and this season, we've shown everyone what we're all about."
TJC head coach Corey Rose was ecstatic over the play of the defense, including goalkeeper Beatrice Soto and defenders Ragona, Brittany Wispell, Laura Thompson and Karly Baker.
"Shutting them out twice, at their place and here in the region final, that's big-time for my defense," Rose said.
TJC grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute on Newton's shot from the top of the 18-yard box. The ball hit the inner part of the left upright and settled into the right side of the net. "I just seen the opportunity open and I knew I wanted to get as many goals as we could today," Newton said. "I didn't want it to end the same way as last year, going into (penalty kicks). Just finished our chances when we got them."
The Apache Ladies took that one-goal lead to halftime. They had three shots-on-goal to Navarro's two in the first half. Both keepers made two saves and Navarro had a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.
Ragona gave her team a two-goal cushion 10 minutes into the second half. Similar to Newton's goal, Ragona settled the ball near the top of the box and got off a clean shot.
The Navarro keeper appeared to make a save, but the officials determined the ball had crossed the line. However, TJC would still have netted a goal off the sequence because Scarlett Tarno clearly put the ball in the back of the net off the deflection.
Navarro came close to scoring with 18 minutes left. Toni Smith, a sophomore from England, hit the crossbar with a shot. Teammate Venicia Reid, a sophomore from Jamaica, got a chance off the deflection but was off target.
TJC finished the match with five shots-on-goal, two corner kicks and three saves. Navarro had four shots-on-goal, six corner kicks and two saves.
With TJC's ability to recruit top-notch talent, Rose is not surprised by the program's quick ascent.
"(The school) is so awesome, everything they give you to be successful," Rose said. "It starts with the athletic director and all the way down. We had a great fan base here tonight. We want to keep that going, keep building and make it a fun night for people to be out here. Second year of doing this, I really did think it could be possible."
