Lady Panthers shut out Lions of an opportunity to be State Champions
Senior Laurel Parker takes a shot on goal in the state playoff matchup against Harris County. The Lady Panthers were carried by seniors Leslie Logan and Riley Clark, who combined for seven goals in the 9-0 win.
May 2, 2016
The Lady Panthers wouldn’t let the ball out of their grips last Wednesday and the proof was the score. Led by seniors Leslie Logan and Riley Clark, the Lady Panthers defeated Harris County 9-0 in the first round of the state playoffs. Logan and Clark scored a combined seven goals in the game to lead the team into the next round.
“This win means a lot to the seniors,” Logan said. “It is our last chance to show what we’re made of. That’s the main goal.”
A Lady Panther player fights for the ball, hoping to keep the advantage. “We tried to stay offensive,” senior Riley Clark said, “and tried to stay aggressive throughout the game.”
Logan scored the first goal in the second minute while the Lions keeper pushed the ball into the goal attempting to block the shot. The Panthers immediately got the ball back and passed it around, fighting to get the ball to Clark.
Once found, Clark scored on a wide open shot, hitting the top-middle of the goal in the fourth minute, putting the Lady Panthers up 2-0.
In the seventh minute, senior Dylan Patterson took a corner kick and sent the ball into the box, allowing Clark to score the third goal for the Panthers. Eleven minutes later, Logan fought through a crowd to score the fourth goal for Starr’s Mill.
“We didn’t want to get comfortable where we were,” Clark said. “We didn’t want to give up our advantage.”
Logan found an opening in the defenders, giving her a wide open chance for the fifth goal in the 27th minute. Clark got an assist from senior Laurel Parker to score the sixth goal for the Lady Panthers.
In the 39th minute, Clark scored the seventh goal with an assist from Logan to send the game to halftime with a comfortable lead.
A Lady Panther passes the ball down the field. “How well we work together helps us get the ball around,” senior Leslie Logan said, “and helps us communicate while on the field.”
“At half time, we tried to switch out the players,” Logan said. “Our goal was just to not let the intensity drop.”
In the second half, the Lions were more aggressive, but remained scoreless throughout the rest of the game. The ball stayed around midfield for the first nine minutes, as Starr’s Mill kept back and didn’t allow many opportunities for Harris County.
The Panthers got back on the attack soon, however, and junior Sky Dedrick scored the eighth goal from the middle of the box, hitting the top right corner of the goal in the 11th minute.
Three minutes after that, junior Ashton Nowicki scored the last goal from just outside the box and the Lady Panthers held on for the 9-0 win. “This win is hopefully going to push us to that final win and give us the title of State Champions,” Clark said.
Up next for the Lady Panthers is the Heritage Patriots in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs at home on Wednesday, May 4 at 5:30 p.m. Heritage, the No. 2 seed from Region 8-AAAAA, defeated Villa Rica 5-1 in their first round matchup to advance to the second round.
