By MICHAEL CHILDERS, CJ Correspondent
Somerset — The Boyle County Lady Rebels came into last night’s contest against the Southwestern Lady Warriors with the best record in the 15th Region, and the he Lady Rebels continued their regional dominance with a 6-1 victory over Southwestern in the semifinals of the Girls 15th Region Tournament at Somerset’s Clara Morrow Field.
With the win, the Lady Rebels punched their ticket into the Region 15 championship game, where they will face the Danville Lady Admirals.
Boyle County came out shooting early, but Southwestern’s Hailley White and keeper Chelsea Albright made key saves to hold the Lady Rebels scoreless.
However, the flood gates opened up for Boyle County quickly. In the seventh minute, Hannah Stone put the Lady Rebels up 1-0 with a chip shot from nearly 35 yards out.
Boyle County’s leading scorer Kennedy Collier, who came into the game with 36 goals, scored from 25 yards out less than a minute later.
“We tried to set the tone early tonight,” said Boyle County head coach Brian Deem. “We were fortunate to get a couple of good goals from distance early. We were able to recognize that they (Southwestern) were playing a defensive system and we had to make the most of it and stretch out the field and play off each other.”
Along with the great offensive play, the Lady Rebels played stellar defense, not allowing Southwestern a shot until Danay Fothergill got one past the Boyle County defense twelve minutes into the contest.
Meagan Curry gave Boyle County a 3-0 lead with a shot from inside of the penalty box with 28:02 left until halftime.
Courtney Hall widened the Boyle County lead to four goals after a shot that bounced off of the left post and ricocheted into the back of the nets for the score.
Danay Fothergill scored the Lady Warriors’ lone goal of the night on a free kick that chipped Boyle County keeper Lindsey Evans with 16:38 left until the break.
The Lady Warriors were now down 4-1, but not for long.
Just over a minute later, Meagan Curry tallied her second goal of the contest, getting a shot near the left post by Albright to give the Lady Rebels a 5-1 lead.
It would be a while before Boyle County would find the nets again. Some great defensive plays by Southwestern’s Kim Smart, Jaci Brainard, Courtney Inabnitt, and Kayla Janbakhsh along with Albright held the Lady Rebels in check until late in the game. The Lady Warriors held Boyle County without a goal until 18:08 left in the second half. Kennedy Collier found the back of the nets to increase the ‘black and gold’ lead to 6-1.
Mercifully, that would be the final goal scored of the night for the Lady Rebels.
“In the second half we (Southwestern) were a much better team,” stated Southwestern head coach Matt Cook. “Their first couple of goals were from 25 to 30 yards out and we were pretty content to let them (Boyle County) shoot from there and they just hit them. They are who they are for a reason and there’s no other way to shake it.”
After the loss, the Lady Warriors were eliminated from 15th Regional Tournament and closed out their season with a record of 7-6-5. Three Southwestern seniors played in their final game in the ‘blue and orange’ jersey. Chelsea Albright, Allie Randall, and Hailley White each concluded their soccer career with the Lady Warriors last night. The trio was a part of three 30th District championship teams in their four years at Southwestern.
“I really hate it for my seniors,” said Cook just minutes after the 6-1 loss. “I’ve coached them (Albright, White, and Randall) since sixth grade and they’ve always done things the way I like for them to and they’ve always been great kids for our program. I’m going to miss them and that’s the most bittersweet part.”
With the win, the Lady Rebels advance to tomorrow night’s Championship contest against cross-town rival Danville. The Lady Rebels have beaten Danville twice this season. Boyle County defeated the Lady Admirals 8-1 on Sept. 26 and again last week with a 3-1 victory in the 29th District Championship game.
“It’s round three,” stated Deem about tomorrow night’s match-up with Danville. “We watched Danville play tonight and they’re going to be ready to get after it. It should be two good teams battling for a regional championship.”
The 15th Region Championship game is set to get under way tomorrow night at Somerset High School’s Clara Morrow Field at 6:30 p.m.
