The Lady Panthers made travelled to Greenbrier Evans to take home a 3-1 victory in Monday’s AAAAA State Sweet Sixteen.
The scoring was all done in the first half with two goals for the Lady Panthers coming before the five minute mark. The final goal would be with a sister to sister connection as junior captain Sarah Yoss found her sibling behind the Wolfpack backline and got an assist for the 3-0 lead.
The defense relaxed in the waning seconds of the first quarter as the Greenbrier attack found the back of the goal with 30 seconds to play.
Greenbrier came out with a stronger intensity out of halftime but the Lady Panthers were still persistent with setting up opportunities to score. The Yoss sisters, sophomore Kayla Feigenbaum, and junior Jenna Currin all had opportunities to finish but were off the mark. The Lady Panther defense held together as a foot save by sophomore Paige Betsill kept the Wolfpack out of range for the remainder of the game.
“It was just an instinct save,” Betsill said. “I didn’t really think to save it with my feet, it just came naturally because I have practiced that form before.”
In the first round, the Lady Panthers took a commanding 7-0 win against the Region 1-AAAAA champions Thomas County Central Tuesday night to advance to the Greenbriar game.
The game speed was on full throttle as the Lady Panthers were up 3-0 six minutes into the game against Thomas County. The pace slowed quickly as the Yellow Jackets brought a strong attack throughout the remaining first half, only to get shutout by The Mill’s back line made up of freshman Dylan Patterson, junior Claire Williams, and junior Rachel Catlett. A bullet from junior Katlyn Keown secured the win in the 74th minute. The dominating win is the Lady Panthers’ tenth shutout this season.
“It was good to get a comfortable first win,” Catlett said. “It helps us stay relaxed and prepare for the next team.”
The Lady Panthers headed into the first round of the GHSA-AAAAA Playoffs with two 2-0 losses to crosstown rivals McIntosh and non-region Walton.
“We knew we had to let all the losses go,” Sarah Yoss said. “Anything can happen in a playoff game and we need to focus on what’s ahead of us.”
Walton gave the Lady Panthers a legged affair as the Raiders could only get off eight shots on the evening. A perfectly placed shot in the top right corner with six seconds left gave Walton the 1-0 lead going into halftime. Despite struggling in the attack, the team defended well and limited Walton’s opportunities, head coach John Bowen said.
The Lady Panthers’ defense unraveled when a header from a corner kick doubled Walton’s advantage in the 55th minute. With slow starts being a theme with their offense, the Lady Panthers picked up the pace late in the match but could not penetrate the tough Walton defense to find the back of the net. The loss leaves the Lady Panthers with a 13-5-0 regular-season record.
“Some of us weren’t completely over the big loss,” freshman Riley Clark said, referring to the Walton loss. “We picked it up in the second half, but we still came up short.”
The Lady Panthers traveled to Greenbrier Evans in Augusta Monday night and came home with a 3-1 victory, which puts them in Friday’s game at Riverwood at 7 p.m. For updates on those games, check The Prowler website.