Catholic, DC to meet in championship after narrow wins in semis

October 22, 2020 | 12:03 am

Updated October 22, 2020 | 10:52 am

Photo by Ryan Richardson

Freshman duo help send Lady Aces to region championship

Freshmen Jahaira Ward and Abby Payne were the surprise heroines Wednesday night in Owensboro Catholic’s 2-1 win over Meade County in the 3rd Region Tournament semifinals.

The teams were tied 1-1 after regulation and a pair of overtime periods. Both then converted all five shots in the first round of penalty kicks.

In the second round of PKs — which is a sudden-death format — Meade County missed their first attempt. Payne — who took over after starter Megan Goodwin left the game about 20 minutes in due to an injury — caught a chip shot by Meade County’s Loren Littrel.

Ward, who hadn’t played in three weeks because of an injury, stepped to the line. Her shot stayed low and to the right, slipping just under the dive of Meade County keeper Madison Hebert.

“I was really nervous. I was freaking out but I was confident in myself that I could do it,” Ward said. “I didn’t expect to ever step on this field tonight. I was really wanting to take it. It made me really happy too because I haven’t played in three weeks. It made me really happy to contribute to us getting to the finals.”

Catholic was slow out of the gate, playing a little sluggish and unable to build any real momentum.

“Our heads weren’t on tonight. Maybe it’s because we expected to play Monday and we thought we were going to play Tuesday,”  said head coach Andy Hines, referring to winning via forfeit by McLean County due to COVID-19 protocols and plus a one-day delay due to weather. “I don’t know. Hopefully, we’ll straighten out with the hype of being in the finals again. We want another chance at either Ohio or Daviess County. Hopefully, we show up and play hard.”

Meade County struck first when Cyia Robertson set up Mattie Clanton for a goal inside the box 20 minutes into the first half.

“It’s really hard to play against teams that launch the ball on us and kick the ball sometimes — sometimes they wanted to go to their forward, their fast players up top — so I think some of that throws us off and we don’t know how to play,” Hines said. “We weren’t very good tonight, but I think Meade played their hearts out. We should give them credit, they played us hard and I know they wanted this game badly. They took it to us.”

Catholic, which has now won four straight games to get to 8-7-1 on the season, will take on Daviess County at 5:30 p.m. today in the region championship, which will be played at OHS Soccer Complex at Shifley Park.

DC (7-5-2) beat the Lady Aces 1-0 in the regular season, but Catholic topped the Lady Panthers 2-0 in the 9th District championship.

DC uses tough defense, late goals to top Ohio County in region semis

A stifling Daviess County defense kept one of the state’s top scoring teams at bay, and with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Ohio County the Lady Panthers are back in the 3rd Region title game for the seventh year in a row.

It was a grueling match that could have gone either way before a pair of late goals helped DC seal the victory.

“Our defense didn’t come off the field,” said head coach David Sandifer. “They played as well as we could have possibly asked for. Emma Patterson did a great job in goal. For the first time in probably our program history we man-marked a girl. Danielle Carpenter marked (Ohio County’s) Carly Embry and did a great job. Mackenzie Sweatt was great in the midfield.”

Embry is a standout scorer for the Lady Eagles, averaging 2.3 goals per game. 

It was Embry who was first to find the net midway through the first half. She gained possession deep in the right corner after slipping past the defense, then rifled in a shot that curved into the left side of the goal.

The equalizer for DC came in the 37th minute. Avery McNeiley collected the ball just past midfield and quickly beat the defender. With only the keeper to beat, she easily smashed in a goal from inside the box.

Ohio County, which averaged 6.0 goals per match before Wednesday night, put together their fiercest attack in the final two minutes of the first half. One shot from 40 yards out hit the crossbar and bounced straight down then out. Embry tried to chip in the rebound but Patterson did just enough to deflect the shot.

Patterson made another spectacular save, jumping just in time to deflect a laser shot in the closing seconds.

Each team got a few good looks throughout the second half, but Daviess County was the only one to convert.

The go-ahead goal came with 4:54 to play, when Steeley Walker took a touch, turned, and buried a shot from the top of the box for a 2-1 lead. 

McNeiley put on the finishing touches in the final minute by tapping in a goal after the keeper could only deflect McNeiley’s first attempt. 

“Avery McNeiley stepping up and scoring two big goals and Steeley Walker getting the other was really big,” Sandifer said. “Overall it was a great team effort. The girls played their butts off.”

McNeiley, a senior, was just grateful to make it back to another championship bout.

“I’m very thankful we won and very proud of my team,” she said. “Hard work pays off and we showed that. We knew coming into this that Ohio County was very aggressive, so we had to level up to them and play as hard as them.”

The Lady Panthers, which have now won back-to-back games for only the second time this season, improve to 8-5-2. They will take on Owensboro Catholic at 5:30 p.m. today in the region championship, which will be played at OHS Soccer Complex at Shifley Park.

DC beat the Lady Aces 1-0 in the regular season, but Catholic (8-7-1) topped the Lady Panthers 2-0 in the 9th District championship.

October 22, 2020 | 12:03 am

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