Move over, Caitlin Clark. There’s a new point guard in town.
Lady Wildcats junior Swiss-Army-Knife Leiah Hite delivered not one, not two, not three, not four, but five assists Friday night at the Trigg County Recreation Complex — all needed in a 5-1 win against Fifth District rival Lyon County.
Leading the team with 11 goals coming into the game, she instead switched roles, finding the feet of Maggie Wolfe, Landie Hite, Lilly Richardson and the electric Hallie Joiner for a brace.
Thrice those finds came on corners in the fourth, 18th and 65th minutes, as Trigg County maintained consistent possession, and outshot the Lady Lyons 18-9 — including 9-4 in a decisive first half.
“I think we’ve really worked on communicating,” she said. “And, so, whenever I was dropped into a new position, it was really (about) talking to everybody, and getting everybody to move off of the ball. Leadership is a big piece.”
Leiah wasn’t the only one in a new position Friday night, either.
For most of the year, senior Charlstyn Heath has been between the posts — her size a helpful trait at the spot.
However, looking for experience to defend the incredible forward, senior Alice Smith, Coach Jason Hite instead started freshman Caroline Kosak at goalie and put Heath at outside back — a place with which she’s quite familiar.
It worked.
Kosak, one of four freshmen in the Lady Wildcats starting lineup (alongside Lydia Redd, Richardson, and Landie), finished with four saves, while Smith — coming in with 15 goals on the year — was shutout, instead often forced to take shots from wide left or wide right.
“Caroline played there some for us during the Bluegrass Games, and against Owensboro earlier this week,” Jason said. “Charlstyn’s experience at outside back…she played a lot of minutes there for us last year. We felt that gave us the best chance to win. We’ve had a couple of players that’s been out sick, and under the weather. It was just a decision we had to make. A game-time decision.
“And we didn’t really get (Alice) out of position,” Jason added. “Any time you can hold a player like Alice scoreless is a huge win for us. But generally speaking, she’s going to get hers every time. We moved some players around on her. Tried to keep someone on her athletically to match her. And, unfortunately, she didn’t have a great night for her standards. But it worked for us. She’s a fantastic player. One of the better scorers in the district, for sure, if not the best.”
Leiah’s precision on corners truly ended up being a big difference in the contest. What could’ve been a 2-1 match with strong clears and denial instead turned into successful, elaborate set pieces for the Lady Wildcats — who scored on 3-of-5 for 60% success.
“We really just communicated that putting the ball in the box is where it needs to be,” Leiah added. “And we have to fight as hard as we can to get something off of it. And I think that’s what we’re really good at: being aggressive inside the box.”
Two funny moments in the match both happened in the second half:
— In the 58th minute, Lyon County would erase its goose-egg, when a scrum failed to be cleared, and Edie Jones notched her fourth goal of the season. It cut the deficit to 4-1, and longtime Lady Lyons Coach Abby Smith worked to keep her team serious, yelling: “Stop celebrating! We need three more goals!”
— In the 61st minute, Richardson picked up the second of her two fouls. Neither drew cards, but Jason yelled: “Lilly! Stop fouling!”
Both teams meet again Thursday, September 19.
STATISTICS (unofficial)
SCORING
1H — 4′ TC Maggie Wolfe from Leiah Hite (corner), 1-0; 8:58′ TC Lilly Richardson from Leiah Hite, 2-0; 18′ TC Hallie Joiner from Leiah Hite (corner), 3-0.
2H — 45′ TC Landie Hite from Leiah Hite, 4-0; 58′ LC Edie Jones (unassisted, scrum clear), 4-1; 65′ Hallie Joiner from Leiah Hite (corner), 5-0.
SHOTS: TC 18, LC 9.
SAVES: TC Caroline Kosak 4, LC Richmond Herring 9.
CORNERS: TC 5, LC 5.
FOULS: TC 2, LC 2.
CARDS: TC none, LC none.
RECORDS: TC 4-3-1 (2-0), LC 4-3-0 (1-1).
