Lily Moore had a hat trick 10 minutes into the game in a totally one-sided 10-0 victory for the Owensboro Catholic girls soccer team. The Lady Aces took down Grayson County in the first round of the Region 3 Tournament Tuesday night at Meade County.
OCHS (12-6-1) outshot the Lady Cougars (9-12) 38-0, but it took 70 minutes before Amelia Fusco was final able to net the 10th goal to end the match early. Still, head coach Kelli Brannock was happy with how her team played.
“I was happy with our movement off the ball,” she said. “We were able to rotate and rest people, which is hard to do when you’ve only got 14 players on your roster. We’re in a good frame of mind. I like our energy. Hopefully we’re going to come out and do it again tomorrow.”
The Lady Aces got off to a quick start on a cold night away from home. Moore scored three times inside the box, with the second goal coming off a pass from Genarose Jones.
“The girls were in a good mental state even though it was cold,” Brannock said. “Generally speaking, I don’t think it had an impact on us.”
Kaylee Morris added a pair of her own goals over the next 17 minutes, and Jones again got an assist on one of the scores. Aliyah Berry rounded out the first-half scoring with a goal in the 31st minute.
Owensboro Catholic started the second half with another three goals in the first 14 minutes. Fusco scored her first goal with an assist from Jones, and Izzy Stanfield scored less than a minute later.
Jones added a goal of her own off a pass from Moore, but the Lady Aces struggled to put another one in the net until Fusco was able to connect again. It took them 21 shots before they were able to get four goals.
“When you get to this stage in the game, you’ve got to finish your opportunities,” Brannock said. “Bottom line. You can’t afford to hit the crossbar and the posts and let the ball bounce around. You have to finish. Coming out and finishing was a key goal of ours tonight.”
The Lady Aces will have to come out strong again tonight in a game against Ohio County (10-7-2), who received a bye in the first round after winning their district tournament. The teams met a single time this season in a match that ended in a 2-2 draw. Brannock is ready for what she expects to be another tight contest.
“I think it’s going to be a really aggressive game,” she said. “We’re looking forward to it.”
