McAlester falls to Choctaw in nail-biting district battle

Apr. 12—It came down to the final minutes of the game.

McAlester hosted Choctaw on Friday, where the Lady Buffaloes fell to the Lady Yellowjackets 3-2.

"I thought we dominated the game," coach Rashaud Buie said after the game.

"Strategically, effort-wise, we did really well. We just couldn't come out with it," Buie said.

McAlester (5-7, 1-4) got the game started quickly when Natalia Reyes found the ball, took it up the field, and launched it into the back of the net — giving the Lady Buffs the early 1-0 lead. Choctaw responded by getting downfield and taking shots, but were missed or blocked by goalie Maddison Wein. Reyes and Makayla Misener found each other down the field to get the ball in goal territory.

Choctaw continued taking shots, and eventually found one into the back of the net — tying the game 1-1 with 30 minutes left in the first half. Misener and Jaidyn Bledsoe took opportunities to shoot, but missed.

Choctaw responded with a shot, but was blocked by Kelsie Harden.

Momentum shifted again when Vanessa Carranza took the ball upfield and passed to Misener, who launched it into the back of the net — reclaiming McAlester's lead 2-1 with 19 minutes left in the first half.

Reyes passed to Addison Relayson for a goal opportunity, but missed. Wein continued blocking multiple goal efforts from Choctaw, but McAlester held the 2-1 lead at halftime.

The second half was a back and forth battle for possession of the ball. Choctaw continued taking shots, but missed. Harden and Cameryn Brown went to work in defense, trying to stop Choctaw from getting past the defense line. McAlester tried returning pressure with Misener taking a shot, but stopped by Choctaw's goalie.

The game shifted in the final two minutes of the game, when Choctaw took an opportunity from a throw-in to head the ball past Wein into the net, giving them the lead. The game ended with the Lady Yellowjackets taking the win 3-2.

Buie added, "At the end of the game, when we were shaking hands, their coach even said we deserved to win, and they did. We just were unfortunate today."

Up next for McAlester, the Lady Buffs hit the road to Elgin for another district game matchup on Tuesday to face the Lady Owls at 5:30 p.m.