Just two days short of the one year anniversary of a heartbreaking loss in the state championship match, the Sacred Heart Valkyries looked like a team that is on a mission to not have that happen to them again. Sacred Heart held the Madisonville-North Hopkins Lady Maroons without a shot on goal for the first half as they rolled to a 6-0 win in the state quarterfinals on a picture-perfect late Saturday afternoon in Madisonville.
The Valkyries had 15 juniors on that team, providing them significant experience on which to build towards a state championship run this season. And not just any 15 juniors either. Sacred Heart had 8 players who are headed to play Division I soccer at programs ranging in scope from Lipscomb to Vanderbilt.
The Valkyries, who came into the postseason with the highest RPI rating in the state looked every bit the part of a top-ranked team, never letting the Lady Maroons get into the flow of the match on either the offensive or defensive end of the field.
Sacred Heart got on the scoreboard just 4:34 into the match when Caitlin Chase took a pass on a run down the middle of the field and put it past Lady Maroon keeper Kaytee Parish to make it 1-0.
Chase scored for the second time of the afternoon at the 12:40 mark. She drilled a penalty kick to make it 2-0. The penalty kick was set up when the Lady Maroons were called for tripping Avery Krupp in the box.
The Valkyries had a great chance to extend the lead at the 17:00 mark, but Kaytee Parish made a pair of outstanding saves to keep the score at 2-0.
But, with the constant offensive pressure being exerted, the Valkyries again found the net at 18:15 when Lilly Lund scored on a run down the middle to make it 3-0.
Kaytee Parish had another big save at the 34:00 to keep the score at 3-0 as the two teams went to the break.
The story of the half was the total lack of scoring chances for Madisonville-North Hopkins. The Lady Maroons had no shots on goal for the first 40 minutes while Sacred Heart had 19. The problem for the Lady Maroons continued for a chunk of the second half as they did not get their first shot on goal until the 61:00 mark.
Sacred Heart’s defense did the job shutting down the attack of Madison Hill, Kailey Barber, and McKinley Wilson for the Lady Maroons throughout the afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Valkyries got right back to work as the second half got started. Annie Walz scored at 48:00 to push the lead to 4-0. Mia Lancaster found the net at 68:47 to extend the margin to 5-0. And then Avery Krupp scored near the 73:00 to end the scoring for the afternoon.
Despite the quarterfinal loss, it was a big season for the Lady Maroons, including their postseason run. They finish 15-7-1 for the year, winning the 2nd Region title and advancing to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2014.
Sacred Heart improves to 22-1-2 and advances to the state semifinals next Wednesday at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, where they will face South Oldham. The two teams met in mid-September with the Valkyries taking a 3-1 win.
