Lady Mustangs stay undefeated; tie with Hillsboro
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — It took until nearly the end of the match, but the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs stayed undefeated on the 2013 season, tying with Highland County rival Hillsboro, 2-2 Monday.
It wasn't easy for the Division III No. 6 state-ranked Lady Mustangs to keep their undefeated mark intact, but the match-tying goal came on a penalty kick from junior Sydney Cromer with the ball landing in the left side of the goal. The PK came from the Lady Indians being called for a hand ball inside of the box.
"We struggle with Hillsboro every year," LC head coach Dennis West said. "It doesn't matter where we play, they (HHS) always come in with a good game plan."
West spoke about what went through his mind when he realized they had a penalty kick.
"Two things went through my mind," he said. "One was who is going to kick it, and two was kick it well.
"Sydney has been tough this year on penalty kicks, and I don't think she's missed one all year."
HHS head coach Leslie Molen also talked about the match.
"Playing on a smaller field hurt us in the game," she said. "We had a few unlucky calls that didn't go in our favor, and it cost us the win. I feel we controlled the ball 80 percent of the time. Both teams played tough.
"They (LC) are a tough team physically, and we lost one of our defensive players due to the physical play of the game and we had to regroup. All in all, not a bad game."
As for the match, both teams showed why they are two of the better teams in the Southeast District, with the score being tied at 1-1 following the first 40 minutes of play.
LC, who have allowed under 10 goals total this season, was first to score in the match, with junior Sam Whitenack scoring off a direct kick with 34:50 on the first half clock.
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HHS answered with senior Madison Colliver scoring a goal in front of the net for a 1-1 tie with 28:50 left in the opening half.
The Lady Indians controlled possession for most of the game, and with that effort, they ended up taking the lead when Colliver scored her second goal of the match, this time with 34:53 left in the match.
"(Madison) Colliver burned us twice, and we even wanted to key in on her," West said. "She played a very good game, and we just couldn't keep her from scoring."
From there, HHS continued to pressure the defense of the host Lady Mustangs with goals that nearly went into the back of the net, with one as close as bouncing off the cross bar.
LC started their pressure with around three minutes left in the match, then capitalized on the hand ball penalty called with 32 seconds left in the match.
Defense was a big part of this match, and the two LC keepers combined for 19 saves as Sabrina Duncan totaled 12 saves in the second half and Bailey Leininger had seven saves in the first 40 minutes. Hillsboro's Rachel Sexton had eight saves.
"Credit the girls, they played hard for the entire game," West said. "We keep telling them good things will happen if they play hard, and so far, it has."
LC has a chance to win the gold soccer ball in girls soccer this Friday as they will host North Adams, putting their SHAC undefeated mark on the line.
HHS will play again on Tuesday when they face Miami Trace at MTHS.
It wasn't easy for the Division III No. 6 state-ranked Lady Mustangs to keep their undefeated mark intact, but the match-tying goal came on a penalty kick from junior Sydney Cromer with the ball landing in the left side of the goal. The PK came from the Lady Indians being called for a hand ball inside of the box.
"We struggle with Hillsboro every year," LC head coach Dennis West said. "It doesn't matter where we play, they (HHS) always come in with a good game plan."
West spoke about what went through his mind when he realized they had a penalty kick.
"Two things went through my mind," he said. "One was who is going to kick it, and two was kick it well.
"Sydney has been tough this year on penalty kicks, and I don't think she's missed one all year."
HHS head coach Leslie Molen also talked about the match.
"Playing on a smaller field hurt us in the game," she said. "We had a few unlucky calls that didn't go in our favor, and it cost us the win. I feel we controlled the ball 80 percent of the time. Both teams played tough.
"They (LC) are a tough team physically, and we lost one of our defensive players due to the physical play of the game and we had to regroup. All in all, not a bad game."
As for the match, both teams showed why they are two of the better teams in the Southeast District, with the score being tied at 1-1 following the first 40 minutes of play.
LC, who have allowed under 10 goals total this season, was first to score in the match, with junior Sam Whitenack scoring off a direct kick with 34:50 on the first half clock.
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HHS answered with senior Madison Colliver scoring a goal in front of the net for a 1-1 tie with 28:50 left in the opening half.
The Lady Indians controlled possession for most of the game, and with that effort, they ended up taking the lead when Colliver scored her second goal of the match, this time with 34:53 left in the match.
"(Madison) Colliver burned us twice, and we even wanted to key in on her," West said. "She played a very good game, and we just couldn't keep her from scoring."
From there, HHS continued to pressure the defense of the host Lady Mustangs with goals that nearly went into the back of the net, with one as close as bouncing off the cross bar.
LC started their pressure with around three minutes left in the match, then capitalized on the hand ball penalty called with 32 seconds left in the match.
Defense was a big part of this match, and the two LC keepers combined for 19 saves as Sabrina Duncan totaled 12 saves in the second half and Bailey Leininger had seven saves in the first 40 minutes. Hillsboro's Rachel Sexton had eight saves.
"Credit the girls, they played hard for the entire game," West said. "We keep telling them good things will happen if they play hard, and so far, it has."
LC has a chance to win the gold soccer ball in girls soccer this Friday as they will host North Adams, putting their SHAC undefeated mark on the line.
HHS will play again on Tuesday when they face Miami Trace at MTHS.