EDDYVILLE — While the 2022 high school football season was embraced across the Commonwealth Friday night, four girls soccer games stole their pitches across the state.
Brown topped Holy Cross (Louisville) 3-2. Franklin-Simpson and Allen County-Scottsville played to a 1-1 tie. Loveland (OH) nipped George Rogers Clark 2-1.
And 7th District nemesis Caldwell County roared in the second half at Lee S. Jones Park to top 5th District foe and border rival Lyon County 5-1.
The Lady Tigers, now 4-0 for the first time since 2010, picked up a literal brace from sophomore forward Harper Ritchey. She scored her first goal of the season at the 20-minute mark to make it 1-0 — a lob from about 15-to-20 yards out, left side to upper right corner. And she scored her second goal in the second half at the 54-minute mark, easily finishing for the game’s final tally.
In the midst of it all, a classic rivalry as it always is. Ibuprofen. Ice. A physical affair. Typical of these two teams, whose young women might just as soon scrap it out on the soccer field, then spend their summer-job cash hanging out with each other at the local Sonic Drive-In.
For the first 20 minutes, nothing but stalwart effort. Caldwell County’s Laken White left with excruciating pain in a knee just seven minutes into the match. And though she was in better spirits afterward, fifth-year coach Rhett Miller noted she’ll be back only if the clearance is right.
“She’s a strong part of our team,” Miller said. “Without her, we struggle a little bit in a couple of different ways. She went out with that knee injury today, and she doesn’t feel like it’s that bad, but she’s not going to tell me the truth about that. So we’re going to have to take a look at it and see.
“She wants to play. That’s the kind of competitor she is, and I’ve got to respect that. But I’m worried about her health.”
No sooner did Ritchey ring up her first goal, did Lyon County answer. Sophomore forward Alice Smith scored her seventh goal of the season at the 22-minute mark to make it 1-1, slipping it past keeper Rachel McClung to equalize.
The Lady Tigers snagged the lead for good in the 26th minute, when freshman forward Aliya Towns caught Lady Lyons goalie Maddie Russell high in the box — and broke past her for an easy tap. It was her seventh goal of the season, following last week’s hat trick against University Heights Academy in the Second Region All “A” Tournament.
With 32 minutes left in regulation and down just 2-1, Lady Lyons junior midfielder Anna Crawford naturally reacted — swatting a sure score away with her hands.
Unfortunately, she was in the box, and was first assessed a yellow card before it was switched to red.
It was a tough swing of events. Caldwell County moved ahead 3-1 on an Avery Ritchey penalty kick. And Lyon County had to play the remaining half-hour with 10 jerseys.
“It’s rarely done,” Lyon County coach Abby Smith said. “Rarely done. You look some places, and they say that’s a yellow card. And you look some places, and that’s a red card. I asked the refs to talk to me after the game to show me where it was in the book. They’re busy. They wanted to go home, too, and that’s fine. But, I mean, I hate it when a coach gets to make some calls, and I think he should’ve been asked to sit down and just talk a little bit quieter. We’ve got high school girls here, and I’m just trying to teach them respect as well.”
Emotions, naturally, run high in a match like this. Why wouldn’t they? Crawford was beside herself, her teammates consoling.
“And I told her, ‘Nobody else is upset with you,’” Smith added. “’You’re the only one upset with yourself. Nobody else is upset with you at all.’ She was [playing hard]. One of the girls said, ‘You know, we’re thankful we had you for the first 40 minutes.’”
Smith said what hurts the worst about it is that her Lady Lyons host Trigg County on Monday. It’s a Fifth District game, and Crawford will be ineligible.
Sensing frustration — and open space — the Lady Tigers were able to play more up the lines and back inside to capitalize. Mariah Merritt was at the perfect spot for a rebound, making it 4-1 in the 51st, before Ritchey, again, exploited from the left side.
“Here’s the deal with us; we don’t have any big scorers that are just our go-to girl,” Miller said. “We have a team with a lot of forwards that can play. So we have to figure out how to get each person as open, and make it very difficult for the defense to decide who it is they’re going to play.
“And it’s happened all season long. Certain people have thrived in each game, so that’s what we’re looking for.”
Shots were aplenty Friday night. McClung (11) and Russell (16) unofficially combined for 27 saves. Russell, in fact, made the save of the night: denying Merritt her second goal on a 1 vs. 1 breakaway late in the second half.
The 2010 Caldwell County squad, that opened 4-0, went on to finish 17-3-1 as Fourth District champions, before falling to University Heights Academy 5-4 in the opening round of the Second Region Tournament. The 2022 Lady Tigers have lofty goals, but the schedule gets even tougher in the coming days — beginning with Madisonville-North Hopkins August 23.
Following a string of 10 straight wins for Caldwell County from 2008-19, Lyon County had won three of the last four in this series — including both matchups last season.
CALDWELL COUNTY 5, LYON COUNTY 1
Lady Tigers (4-0) 2 3 — 5
Lady Lyons (2-3) 1 0 — 1
SCORING
First Half: 20′ CC Harper Ritchey, 22′ LC Alice Smith, 26′ CC Aliya Towns.
Second Half: 48′ CC Avery Ritchey (PK), 51′ CC Mariah Merritt (rebound), 54′ CC Harper Ritchey.
STATISTICS (unofficial)
Total Shots: CC 25, LC 15. Total Saves: CC Rachel McClung 11, LC Maddie Russell 16. Corners: CC 1, LC 5. Cards: CC Mariah Merritt (yellow), LC Anna Crawford (red).
2 Responses
I knew this article was done by a true pro while I was reading. Then I looked back and saw it was by Ed. That explains it!
Dan, thanks for the kind compliment. Was a fine contest!