Caldwell County’s girls punched their ticket to the 7th District championship game with a 1-0 victory Monday over Hopkins County Central at Butler Stadium in Princeton.
Tallie Branch scored the game’s only goal in the 54th minute, with Mariah Merritt picking up an assist on the play.
The duo hooked up after a corner kick from Keegan Miller went off a Hopkins Central defender and Merritt was able to get the ball to Branch, who used the back of her foot to push the ball into the net.
Branch appeared to pick up a second score later in the contest, but that goal was negated by an offsides call.
The Lady Tigers outshot the Lady Storm 17-9 in the contest, including 10-6 in the second half.
Rachel McClung picked up the shutout in the Caldwell net, recording eight saves.
Brooklyn Clark recorded 10 saves for Hopkins Central, which finishes the season 10-6-1.
The Lady Storm played without leading scorer Priya Holmes.
The Lady Tigers had dropped a 2-1 decision to Hopkins Central during the regular season. The Lady Storm defeated Caldwell 2-1 in a penalty-kick shootout in the district semifinals last season.
The Lady Tigers hold a 32-6 lead all-time against Hopkins Central.
Caldwell’s girls are now 12-4-3. They advance to Thursday’s championship match against top-seeded Madisonville, which is 8-8-1 this season.
The Lady Maroons claimed the regular-season match against the Lady Tigers 3-2.
