Daviess County girl’s soccer used a thunderous second half to push past Owensboro High School for a 6-0 victory.
The Lady Panthers nearly opened the game with a goal in the seventh minute, but Shelby Sandifer was called offsides.
From there the game hit a stalemate, as Daviess County continued to control possession but couldn’t get past senior Abby Beck and the Lady Devils back line.
Eventually the Lady Panthers were able to break through, as junior Brooke Schwartz received a through ball and her shot found the back of the net to put them up 1-0 in the 25th minute.
The remainder of the half went scoreless, with Daviess County Head Coach David Sandifer telling his team to not only play for a through ball to turn into goals, as they seemed disconnected a bit.
“We were not connecting whatsoever at the midfield to get to our strikers,” senior Steeley Walker said. “We were just unconnected as a team as a whole and he was really just explaining to us about how we need to pick up our intensity and how we need to play as a team.”
His team heard the halftime message and quickly turned the tides when they returned to the pitch.
It took Daviess County six minutes into the second half to score, as Schwartz was able to earn her second goal of the day despite the ball deflecting off the keeper’s fingertips.
Moments later in the 55th minute of play, Schwartz grabbed a hat trick to put the Lady Panthers up 3-0.
Owensboro had no answer for the momentum Daviess County had offensively, as only a minute later they scored their third goal in six minutes to take a 4-0 lead courtesy of Walker.
The Lady Devils Head Coach Michael Lovett was pleased with his team’s play in the first half, but said that they weren’t in the right mindset in the second half and it turned the game completely around.
“I thought we came out ready to compete,” Lovett said. “I thought we played a solid first half and I was happy with our progress, with our possession and our fight. We unfortunately had to take a water break called halftime and we were just a different team. We lost focus, we lost our shape and it was ultimately what cost us.”
The Lady Panthers weren’t done after Walker’s goal either, as Walker scored another goal in the 74th minute and Kate McCain scored in the 76th minute, giving them a 6-0 victory as the buzzer sounded.
Walker and her teammates were thrilled to return to the pitch, especially following a COVID-19 plagued season a year ago.
“To get back from last year was kind of different because of COVID-19,” Walker said. “But to be back with our team in a normal season is a lot better and it feels good to be back on the field.”
Schwartz led the way with a hat trick for Daviess County, while Walker finished with a brace. Both credited their teammates for why they were able to find the back of the net so often.
“My teammates,” Walker said. “They gave me good passes so I was able to get a good touch and just look at the goal.”
Lovett said that the Lady Panthers’ attention to detail on the offensive end and never-stop-going demeanor is what ultimately gave them the upper hand.
“They were just switching players in front of our back line and their off the ball movement was very meticulous in the second half to start,” Lovett said. “They were focused, they had their patterned runs and we just couldn’t switch off quick and communicate fast enough.”
Daviess County has two days off before they return to the field to take on Boyle County at home, while Owensboro will take on Apollo on Tuesday, Aug. 17.
