Daviess County and Owensboro Catholic came away with a pair of dominant shutouts in the 9th District girls’ soccer tournament semifinals Monday, setting up a sixth consecutive championship match between the two.
Finally back to full health after a handful of injuries, the top-seeded Lady Panthers got four goals from Steeley Walker and two each from Meredith Campbell and Tori Beth Baylis as they rolled to a 13-0 trouncing of Apollo.
The Lady Aces used two goals by Kaylee Morris to pull away for a 7-0 victory over Owensboro, though a second key player suffered an injury in the win.
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For photos from both games, click here.
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The championship game will by played at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Catholic. The Lady Panthers won both regular season contests. After winning 4-2 in the first meeting, they earned a come-from-behind 4-3 double overtime victory in the second matchup.
DAVIESS COUNTY 13, APOLLO 0
Walker scored four goals in a six-minute stretch, helping the Lady Panthers push their lead to 10-0 with 21:26 still to play in the first half.
“It was definitely impressive what Steeley did,” said Campbell, one of 12 seniors on the team. “She’s a sophomore but she dealt with all the nerves and played with us.”
Both of Campbell’s goals also came during the flurry of early scores from DC.
“My first goal worked because we did what (coach David Sandifer) was yelling at us to do, which was get it wide and cross it in,” Campbell said. “My second goal was a little luck. I was on top of the 18, saw the shot and took it.”
The first goal came just more than five minutes in when Kenlee Newcom knocked in a deflected shot from short distance.
After Baylis lofted in her first goal from the left side, DC doubled their lead to 4-0 with two scores in two minutes — Campbell crossed one in from right to left, and Chloe Hinchcliffe scored in front of the net.
Bree Owen later sent in a shot that tipped off the goalkeepers fingertips and bounced in off the left post, and Walker got her first goal a minute later.
Campbell then rifled in a shot from the top of the box, and Walker scored the next three. DC added three more goals in the final 10 minutes of the half as Baylis, Sophie Jagoe and Kayla Vanover all scored.
“Apollo was packing it in a lot, so we just had to pass and move around them,” said Ashlyn Payton, who played holding midfielder. “We have a good variety of goal scorers on our team. We can all play all the positions, so we just mix well and do whatever we need to do to get it done.”
Avery McNeiley finished with three assists for the Lady Panthers, while Hinchcliffe had one. The E-Gals did not have a shot.
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC 7, OWENSBORO 0
After carrying a 3-0 lead into the half, the Lady Aces added four more goals midway through the second period before holding on the rest of the way to shut out the Lady Devils.
“Tonight was fantastic,” said Catholic first-year head coach Lindsey Overby. “The last couple of games we’ve had, the girls have come out in the first 20-30 minutes and killed it. They’ve possessed the ball and controlled the game.”
Already down one starter in Ashton Logsdon, the Lady Aces will now have to monitor their biggest offensive weapon after Lily Moore suffered a foot injury. Overby subbed Moore out of the game late simply for rest with Catholic having taken a 7-0 lead.
The extent of the injury was unknown immediately after the game. Logsdon’s timetable for a return is also uncertain. Moore and Logsdon are the leading scorers, combining for 32 of the team’s 63 goals.
“In all honesty, we’re going to have to go more defensive-minded in the next game,” Overby said. “Especially with the circumstances that kind of played out today, we’ll have to go all out and play 80 minutes the hardest we can. They’re going to have to lay it out on the field. There’s no reason not to, and they will. They are very resilient.”
Moore scored the first goal just more than three minutes into Monday’s contest. After taking a pass from Kara Morris near midfield, Moore beat two defenders and made a move to get by the keeper for an easy score.
Moore also assisted on the other two first-half goals. Whitnee Rice tapped in a bouncing pass just in front of the net, while Kaylee Morris got on the end of a cross to the box for a 3-0 lead midway through the period.
Ella Goetz scored only 27 seconds into the second half, streaking up the right side and punching in a goal after taking a pass from Katie Riney. Emma Eyre snuck in a goal two minutes later on a shot that slipped through the keeper’s hands.
Riney added a goal of her own, taking a pass from Rice and curving in a shot that just got under the crossbar. Kaylee Morris capped off the scoring by tapping in a loose ball after a scramble in the box with 18:31 to play.
“They’re really starting to move as a unit,” Overby said. “A lot of our players have stepped up and played positions we didn’t even consider. It’s really worked out to its advantages, and it’s given us a lot of opportunities to cycle through and rest some legs.”
OHS freshman goalkeeper Chandler Worth finished with 14 saves.
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2019 soccer coverage is presented by Worth Insurance Group.
