For the fourth year in a row, the Lady Panthers are taking home the 9th District crown.
Daviess County largely controlled the pace as they rolled to a 6-0 win, claiming their fourth consecutive girls’ soccer tournament championship.
Owensboro Catholic, hobbled by injuries, did their best to fight back but simply didn’t have the power or depth to counter a veteran DC squad.
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For a full photo gallery from the game, click here.
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Chloe Hinchcliffe — who now has a team-high 29 goals — first put the Lady Panthers on the board seven minutes in with a nice header in the box, finishing off a long cross from Sophie Jagoe.
The only other goal of the half came with eight minutes to go, when Steeley Walker dove through the box to poke in another cross from Jagoe.
“We came out a little tight, but after the first 12 or 15 minutes we settled in,” said DC head coach David Sandifer. “The girls started moving better and created some opportunities. Defensively the girls played pretty well. We got goals from several different goals, which always helps.”
Catholic entered the game without their two leading scorers. Ashton Logsdon was hurt before the tournament began, while Lily Moore suffered a foot injury in Monday’s semifinal game.
With another player injured during Wednesday’s contest, the Lady Aces were left with just 11 players.
“In my opinion, we held on strong,” said Catholic head coach Lindsey Overby. “It was 80 minutes full of heart and gut and grit, and I could not have been more proud of them. It could have gone a lot worse considering our circumstances. I’ll take 6-0 playing with 11 players.”
The Lady Panthers doubled their lead less than five minutes into the second half with goals by Meredith Campbell and Bree Owen.
Hinchcliffe scored her second goal with 24:27 to play, making a couple of moves to beat a defender and fire a left-to-right shot into the net.
Kenlee Newcom added a final goal with less than a minute to play. Jagoe ended the night with three assists, while Avery McNeiley added two.
“I think we all came out fired up and ready to play,” Newcom said. “We were immensely focused this game. Getting a four-peat is pretty awesome. It feels great. Everyone played together and we all played great.”
Both teams move on to next week’s 3rd Region tournament, though the draw will not be held until Saturday morning.
Hannah Hurt, a senior defender for DC, said after taking care of business in the district tournament, the Lady Panthers have to continue to put together a full-game effort.
“I think we knew what we needed to do, and we came out and did it,” she said. “We have to play 80 minutes and stay mentally in the game.”
For the Lady Aces, Overby is hoping her team can recover and stay positive going forward.
“Right now we’re playing defensive-minded,” she said. “We’re trying to get our players healthy. We’re trying to gut it out at this point. We’re trying to keep the girls’ heads up and keep a positive light on it.”
The All-9th District Team and Player of the Year — as voted on by coaches — was announced after the game.
All-9th District Player of the Year
Kenlee Newcom (Player of the Year) – DCHS
Rest of All-9th District Team (alphabetical order by last name):
Shelby Boone – AHS
Ella Bratcher – OHS
Meredith Campbell – DCHS
Elizabeth Collier – DCHS
Chloe Hinchcliffe – DCHS
Hannah Hurt – DCHS
Sophie Jagoe – DCHS
Ashton Logsdon – OCHS
Avery McNeiley – DCHS
Lily Moore – OCHS
Kara Morris – OCHS
Emma Patterson – DCHS
Ashlyn Payton – DCHS
Chandler Worth – OHS
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2019 soccer coverage is presented by Worth Insurance Group.
