By MICHAEL CHILDERS, CJ Correspondent
Commonwealth Journal
Somerset —
Southwestern came into Tuesday night’s contest against South Laurel with something to prove. Last season, the Lady Cardinals beat the Lady Warriors 10-0 in London. With that loss lying on the back of their collective minds, Southwestern was looking for a bit of redemption on Tuesday night at The Plains. Matt Cook’s squad had the game in hand for the game’s first 70 minutes, unfortunately a soccer game last 80 minutes. Thanks to last-minute heroics from Jessica Perkins, Todd White’s Lady Cardinal club was able to make a spectacular comeback in the final ten minutes to down home standing Southwestern by a final of 4-3. The loss handed the Lady Warriors their first setback of the season.
“Last year, we went over there (to South Laurel), and they humiliated us,” began Cook. “They beat us 10-0.”
Over the course of the second half, South Laurel’s Perkins had trouble getting a shot past goal keeper Kaylee Shepherd, who played an amazing game in the net for the Lady Warriors. Shot after shot was blocked by Shepherd, but with 11:00 left in the contest the senior forward made a spectacular shot while falling down to knot the game up a 3-3.
After going into defensive mode for the entire second half, in part to the injury to Kayla Janbakhsh, the Lady Warriors shifted back into scoring mode in an attempt to one up the Lady Cardinals. Danay Fothergill, already with a hat trick, took a shot with 7:00 minutes left to play, but the shot sailed over the goal, handing South Laurel a goal kick.
With just under four minutes later, Perkins delivered once again for South Laurel, as she scored her third goal of the contest. The goal put the Lady Cardinals out front 4-3. With that goal, it was the first time the Lady Warriors trailed all season long.
“It’s unfortunate to let the game get away from us at the end,” explained the Lady Warrior coach. “We got that goal at the start of the (second) half, and I really packed it in. (Kayla) Janbakhsh was on the bench, so I really didn’t feel like I had a choice - we just went for broke.”
“We held them for the first 20 minutes of it. It looked like we ran out of gas a little bit.”
That goal by Perkins turned out to be a dagger to the chest for Southwestern , as White’s club won the contest 4-3.
“I think we showed a lot of heart near the end of the game,” expressed the South Laurel head coach. “We did what we had to do to win the game.”
State soccer history was made in the game’s opening minutes, as Fothergill scored a goal in the seventh minute. After a Lady Warrior was fouled in the box, Fothergill took the penalty kick. The senior’s attempt was good, giving Fothergill her 100th career goal - a rare feat for a high school soccer player.
“I’m super proud of Danay,” complimented the Lady Warrior coach. “A hundred goals in soccer is not something that many people ever accomplish. She’s gotten it because she’s came out here and worked extremely hard. She never gets the kind of credit that she deserves, I’ll just tell you.”
According to Cook, it’s more than just individual statistics that matter to Fothergill - it’s wins that do the thing for her.
“All she wants to do is win,” explained Cook. “If she never scored and we were winning games, she would be fine with it. She really deserves it, it’s quite an honor for her.”
In the 22nd minute, Perkins dribbled right past the Southwestern defense for her first of three goals on the night. Perkins’ goal tied the game up at one apiece.
With 4:00 left until the break, Fothergill converted on a free kick that bounced off the goalie’s hands for a goal.
Not to be out done Southwestern, South Laurel’s Amy Fouts found the left corner of the nets, knotting the game up at 2-2, which would be the score at halftime.
“I think we got out of the gate kind of slow tonight,” White said. “Here in the last few games, we’ve came out a bit flat - out girls aren’t ready to play.”
“I thought the Fothergill girl really gave us some trouble at the beginning.”
Eight minutes into the second half, Jaci Brainard was fouled inside the box, giving Southwestern another penalty kick. Fothergill made the penalty kick, handing the lead back to the Lady Warriors 3-2.
With the win, South Laurel upped their record to 2-4 on the season. The Lady Cardinals will host the Lady Rebels of Boyle County tonight at 6 p.m.
After beginning the year with the likes of Boone County, Henry Clay, Dunbar, and Anderson County, White was pleased to get a second win under their belts.
“We’ve had a real brutal schedule - that makes only our second win this year,” said White. “We’ve played a lot of top 25 teams.”
“It’s real nice to get in the win column, and for our girls to get a little confidence back. I’m really proud of them.
The Lady Warriors, now 7-1 on the year, will travel to Glasgow tonight for a contest with the Lady Scotties.
“We had a pretty good, undefeated run — it’s over now,” Cook expressed.
