Caldwell County’s girls have earned a berth in the 2nd Region soccer tournament after edging Madisonville-North Hopkins in a shootout Saturday afternoon in Madisonville.
Morgan McDaniels found the back of the net on the final shot of PKs to give the Lady Tigers a 3-2 win in the shootout and a 2-1 victory in the match.
Caldwell (6-3 overall, 2-0 district) gets the No. 1 seed for the 7th District tournament, which means the Lady Tigers advance straight to the championship game — ensuring them a spot in the regional tourney field at Henderson County in just over two weeks.
Madisonville (3-5-2, 1-1) grabbed an early lead in the contest. A crossing pass by Raelynn Blanford was put in the net by Abigail Center in the 4th minute to give the Lady Maroons a 1-0 advantage.
But Caldwell did not surrender another goal over the next 86 minutes of regulation and overtime.
The Lady Tigers drew even early in the second half. A corner kick from McDaniels rolled through the penalty box and was stuck in by Reagan Hodge. That came in the 42nd minute and made it a 1-1 contest.
The Lady Maroons outshot Caldwell 22-12 in the match, but Lady Tiger goalkeeper Karsyn Parker came up big in the net. Parker had 11 saves, including two in the shootout.
However, none was bigger than Parker’s stop in the 67th minute.
Madisonville was awarded a penalty kick when Lillie Carman was fouled in the box. Carman got off a strong shot, but Parker made a diving stab to her left to keep the ball out of the goal and keep the game tied.
Madisonville’s main scorer Camryn LaGrange did not see action during regulation or overtime as she continues to battle a knee injury. However, she did come in to take a PK for the Lady Maroons during the shootout.
LaGrange made her shot, but Kaylee McEnaney matched it for Caldwell.
Madisonville’s Shayla Embry also converted her PK, then Kara Franklin came up with a stop in the net as Lady Maroons went up 2-1 in the shootout.
Meanwhile, Parker came up with saves on Madisonville’s next two attempts while the Lady Maroons’ final shot went over the net.
Caldwell drew even in the shootout when Kelsie Adams hammered home the Lady Tigers’ fourth attempt.
With Madisonville failing on its final three kicks, that gave McDaniels a chance to win it for the Lady Tigers. She took advantage, putting a shot into the upper left corner and setting off a Lady Tiger celebration on the field.
The Lady Maroons had won the last four meetings between the two schools. Madisonville still leads the all-time series 26-9-1.
