Daviess County will begin their quest for a fourth consecutive 9th District tournament title today as the postseason kicks off for local girls’ soccer teams.
The No. 1 seed Lady Panthers will play No. 4 seed Apollo at 6 p.m., while tournament host and No. 2 seed Owensboro Catholic plays at 7:45 p.m. against No. 3 seed Owensboro. The championship will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The Lady Panthers (16-3, 6-0 9th District) finished the regular season with a clean sweep of the district, and with a team full of seniors will be the favorites to repeat as champions.
While the offense has rolled to a region-best 101 goals, the Lady Panthers have also been stingy on defense, allowing only 26 total goals and earning seven shutouts. They put together three different five-game win streaks this season.
The biggest strength for DC is their depth, as 17 players have recorded at least one goal and 18 have at least one assist.
Chloe Hinchcliffe leads the attack and leads the team in goals (26) and assists (16). Kenlee Newcom has added 16 goals and three assists in addition to playing big defensive minutes. Avery McNeiley (11 goals, 8 assists) and Meredith Campbell (9 goals, 13 assists) are also dangerous offensive weapons.
Emma Patterson (58 saves) and Emma Pratt (18 saves) split duties in goal this season.
The Lady Aces (8-7-1, 4-2) have been a bit up and down this season, though they’ve shown they are capable of competing for the title by pushing DC in both regular season games.
The offense (58 goals) has struggled to score in several games, though a strong defensive effort has also limited opponents to only 37 goals. Aside from a three-game win streak followed by three straight losses, the Lady Aces alternated wins and losses throughout the year.
Lily Moore (23 goals, 6 assists) leads the way on offense, while Ashton Logsdon (8 goals, 7 assists) and Emma Eyre (7 goals) are other top threats.
On top of her duties as the defensive leader, Kara Morris has added four goals and seven assists. Kaylee Morris added four goals and six assists, and goalkeeper Megan Goodwin has 87 saves.
The Lady Devils (3-11, 2-4) showed signs of a promising season early, but they struggled down the stretch as they lost their final seven games. Aside from two wins over Apollo, Owensboro’s best district outing came in a 5-0 loss to Owensboro Catholic midway through the season.
Fifteen of their 20 goals on the year came in three games, while they failed to score in seven contests. Ella Bratcher led the team with five goals, and Evelyn Pierson added three goals and five assists.
Chandler Worth finished the regular season with 163 saves in goal.
The E-Gals (0-13-1, 0-6) had a team full of inexperience and had a tough time getting much going for most of the season.
After scoring only one goal through their first 10 matches, Apollo scored five total in a pair of games in late September.
Goalkeeper JoHannah Hutchinson was credited with 191 saves in 11 outings.
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2019 soccer coverage is presented by Worth Insurance Group.
