An aggressive offense was able to propel the Daviess County girls soccer team to a 7-0 victory over Owensboro (0-1) in both teams’ opening game Tuesday at Shifley Park.
Junior Chloe Hinchcliffe was the only Lady Panther to score twice, and she kicked things off when she found the net off an assist from junior Kenlee Newcom. Only a minute later, senior Lainey Armistead added a goal off a deflection from a corner kick, and Daviess County (1-0) carried the 2-0 lead to halftime.
Lady Panthers head coach David Sandifer said his team played a little flat after the pair of goals, but they picked up the pace after halftime.
“We got a little bit stagnant in the first half,” he said. “The second half we were much more active. The girls were moving better and we got the ball wide, where the first half we were too centric.”
Junior Ashlyn Payton started a flurry of scoring in the second half when she took the ball near midfield and beat a couple defenders, then assisted on the next goal with a connection to junior Bree Owen. Hinchcliffe got her second goal of the night off a penalty kick when a handball was called against Owensboro.
Newcom got a goal of her own with a header to the far post on a corner kick from junior Sophie Jagoe. The final score came from junior Kayla Vanover when she knocked in a deflected shot by junior Meredith Campbell.
Sandifer said it’s good to see so many players score this early in the season.
“We had several goal scorers, and that’s what you want to see,” Sandifer said. “We have probably six or seven girls who can score. This early in the year, offense is one of the last things you’re actually working on. You’re trying to work on passing or defending, so finishing, for most teams, is one of the last things you work on.”
The Lady Devils weren’t able to get any shots on goal, but head coach Casey Cundiff said he was pleased with the effort. They hung with the Lady Panthers early until a mix of fatigue, injuries and yellow cards started to weigh on Owensboro in the second half.
Cundiff said he had hoped for more scoring opportunities, but they weren’t able to maintain possession, something he said will be a main focus in upcoming practices.
“The kids gave us everything they had, Cundiff said. “The first half, we did a lot of positive things. We’ve just got to build on that. One thing it did teach us that we have to do is work on holding possession so we’re not chasing them all the time. We have a few days off, so hopefully when we come back Saturday we can have a good result.”
Daviess County will return to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Owensboro Catholic for another District 9 pairing. Owensboro plays again at 9 a.m. Saturday against Christian County.
